Stephen M. Walt is a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University. Walt is the author of The New Geopolitics, a five-part newsletter masterclass breaking down the biggest concepts you should use to navigate today’s world.
A oil painting portrait of a man shown in profile facing left. He wears a dark cap and a reddish-pink tunic over a light collar against a dark background.
USA's goalkeeper Charlie Lindgren reacts during the IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship quarter-final match between the United States and Czech Republic in Prague on May 23, 2024.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on April 7, 2025; and President Donald Trump Washington on Aug. 14, 2025.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio whispers in the ear of President Donald Trump during a roundtable about Antifa in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 8, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump prays during a roundtable discussion with Latino community leaders at Trump National Doral Miami resort in Miami, Florida, on October 22, 2024.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping react after posing for photos ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea.
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he walks off stage at the end of a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
