Where Lula Stands on Ukraine

If you’re reading this in the West, it might be easy to forget that—as Howard French put it shortly after Russia’s invasion last year—“a majority of the human population” is not taking a position one way or another on the war.?

If you’re reading this in Brazil, you’ll likely be aware of the centrality of Russia to that country’s own foreign-policy goals over the years. As Oliver Stuenkel argues, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s ambition to play a mediating role in Ukraine is part of a long tradition of politicians on both the left and right using the Brazil-Russia relationship to their benefit.?

And if you’re reading this from anywhere else in the global south, you may even be aware of Ukraine’s outreach as it plans to massively scale up its diplomatic presence in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, as FP’s Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer report.?

You can learn more about Ukraine’s strategy for winning the hearts and minds of half the world from an FP Live with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova. The transcript of that interview is available exclusively to FP Insiders. Thank you to all our subscribers, as ever, for supporting our journalism on this and other critical international issues.—The editors

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FP Live

Should Governments Regulate AI?

June 1, 2023 | 11 a.m. EDT

Is U.S. President Joe Biden’s White House prepared to deal with the remarkable growth of artificial intelligence? What are the current and potential risks to Americans? Join Alondra Nelson, the architect of the White House’s “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights,” and formerly the head of the White House’s science and technology policy, for a wide-ranging discussion with FP’s Ravi Agrawal. Register here.

Inside the U.S.-China Tech War

June 20, 2023 | 11 a.m. EDT

Where is the new tech war between the United States and China headed? How are other countries being impacted as a result? In what ways are they reassessing their relationships with the world’s largest economic superpowers? Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal in conversation with technology expert Dan Wang for a discussion about China’s technological rise and whether U.S. actions can really stop it. Register here.

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Flash Points: Five novels FP contributors loves?

As the northern hemisphere’s summer approaches, we wanted to share some of the novels that FP contributors and staff have raved about in recent years. They may not exactly be light beach reads, but these books offer a window into how moments in foreign policy and world history—World War I, the Sri Lankan civil war, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime—are passed into fiction.

1. Trysts With Sri Lanka’s Ghosts: In the Booker Prize-winning The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, the past haunts a country racked by unresolved death. By V.V. Ganeshananthan
2. In the Trenches With the Colonizer: The French Senegalese writer David Diop revises the modernist archetype with a protagonist long excluded from World War I literature: the African soldier on the front lines. By Jessi Jezewska Stevens
3. A Portrait of India on Fire: Megha Majumdar’s bestselling novel A Burning begins with a train in flames. But what really gets torched is the Indian Dream. By Ravi Agrawal
4. The Wizard of the Kremlin: A French novel offers a fascinating, fictionalized look at Vladimir Putin’s longtime spin doctor. By Caroline de Gruyter
5. In ‘The Committed,’ Revolution and Colonialism Turn Into Crime: Viet Thanh Nguyen’s sequel moves from the United States to France but stays revolutionary. By Noah Berlatsky

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