John Feffer

John Feffer is the author of the dystopian novel "Splinterlands" (2016) and the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. His new novel, "Frostlands" (2018) is book two of his Splinterlands trilogy. Splinterlands book three "Songlands" will be published in 2021. His podcast is available here.
Articles by this author
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Views Friday, November 16, 2018 Is Korea’s Cold War About to End? Remarkable changes are taking place on the Korean peninsula. The two Koreas are actually starting to demilitarize the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Just in the last couple weeks, they have taken down 22 guard posts , demined the Joint Security Area, and established a no-fly-zone about the peninsula’s... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Welcome to the Ultimate Escape Room The mid-term elections are over, and the Democrats have regained the House, but the rest of American political reality remains intact. Meanwhile, the campaigns barely touched on the most important issues of our time: war, climate change, and the fracturing of the international community. So, let’s... Read more |
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Views Thursday, November 08, 2018 Trump’s Only Election Strategy Was Racism In the week before the mid-term elections, Donald Trump returned to his bread-and-butter issue: immigration. He knows that the only thing that will turn out his base, and possibly swing some independents over to his side, is fear. Economic indicators are in reasonably good shape (for now). Hillary... Read more |
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Views Friday, October 19, 2018 The Americans, the Saudis, and the Israelis: Assassins Without Borders Russia, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia are the latest members of a select international club. Assassins Without Borders has roots that go back, in the modern era at least, to the policies of the Soviet Union, Chile, Israel, Bulgaria, and the United States. All of these countries share a single trait... Read more |
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Views Thursday, October 11, 2018 Why Is the Radical Right Still Winning? Less than a month ago, the candidate leading in the polls in the Brazilian presidential election was a jailed ex-politician who technically couldn’t even run for office. It gets even weirder. Brazilian voters have put corruption near the top of the list of their concerns this political season. Yet... Read more |
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Views Monday, September 24, 2018 Trump’s New Normal: Say Goodbye to the Guardrails of Governance During a lifetime of make-believe, Donald Trump has never pretended to be a conventional politician. When he finally decided to make a serious bid for office, he built his presidential aspirations on the flimsiest of foundations: a wild conspiracy theory about Barack Obama’s birthplace. His... Read more |
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Views Friday, September 07, 2018 Who Was the Real Maverick: McCain or Trump? John McCain was an American politician. That sums up his best and worst qualities. He was not a maverick. As a rather conventional politician, he wasn’t even particularly courageous or much of a straight talker. He represented establishment values as the establishment tilted ever rightward. And yet... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, August 08, 2018 The Case for Imposing Sanctions on Donald Trump and His US-Based Business Empire It’s embarrassing enough to have Donald Trump as president. But now American citizens have to endure the additional pain of the sanctions that other countries are imposing on the United States. Doesn’t the world realize that we’re suffering enough as it is? That seems so grossly unfair. Oh, but... Read more |
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Views Thursday, August 02, 2018 The War Before the Iran War Tucker Carlson has impeccable conservative credentials. He started out as a low-level staffer at the Heritage Foundation and now he hosts a popular show on Fox News. In between were stints at The Weekly Standard and the on-line publication he co-founded, The Daily Caller . His often contentious... Read more |
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Views Thursday, July 26, 2018 Trump’s Dirty Money Marty Byrde has a problem. His partner at the financial services firm has been skimming off the top of the money-laundering service they’re providing a Mexican narcotrafficker. The drug dealer responds by killing Marty’s partner. He’s just about to put a bullet into Marty as well when, in... Read more |