Vladimir Putin and the Parable of the ‘Cornered Rat’
We may be getting the moral of the Russian leader’s childhood story all wrong.
Uri Friedman
Uri Friedman is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and the senior editorial director at the Atlantic Council. He was previously a staff writer at The Atlantic covering national security and global affairs and a senior editor overseeing The Atlantic’s global coverage. Before that, he served as the deputy managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine and worked with Atlantic Media’s chair and owner on editorial and business strategy, helping launch The Atlantic Wire. Friedman’s reporting has focused on issues such as the North Korean nuclear challenge, U.S. relations with China, the evolving international system, the geopolitical consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, global democratic trends, and the intersection of American politics and U.S. foreign policy.
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Illustration by The Atlantic; Source: Getty. How and When the War in Ukraine Will End
Forecasting a conclusion to an unpredictable conflict
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I asked several experts to share the indicators they’re tracking most closely to determine whether Russian nuclear use in Ukraine is imminent—and to help us all separate the signal from the noise.
Antonio Masiello / Getty; The Atlantic A Third Nuclear Age Is Upon Us
North Korea’s moves to develop tactical nuclear weapons show that the slope toward a new era is steepening.
Paul Spella / The Atlantic; Getty How the UN Security Council Can Reinvent Itself
The most powerful body of the most global organization has proved unable to address the world’s most pressing problems.
Getty; The Atlantic What’s the Likelihood of Nuclear War?
The Ukraine crisis isn’t as dangerous as the darkest moments of the Cold War, but the potential for mistakes and miscalculations means the risks are still high.
The Atlantic Putin’s Nuclear Threats Are a Wake-Up Call for the World
The Russian leader’s actions have opened our eyes to how dependent we all are on the whims of one man and his nuclear arsenal.
Mikhail Svetlov / Getty The Seven Habits of COVID-Resilient Nations
South Korea has repeatedly suppressed the spread of the virus and kept deaths to relatively low levels.
The Atlantic The Dueling Ideas That Will Define the 21st Century
Our paradigms mold our assumptions and expectations, and thus our policies and behavior.
Ben Hickey Germany Found a Way to Reduce Polarization. Could It Work in the U.S.?
The country’s robust investment in public media has helped it reduce political divisions.
Harold M. Lambert / Keystone / Getty ; Mark McGillivray
