Richard N. Haass
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Richard N. Haass
Richard N. Haass
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Richard Nathan Haass is an American diplomat. He was president of the Council on Foreign Relations from July 2003 to June 2023, prior to which he was director of policy planning for the United States Department of State and a close advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell in the George W. Bush administration. In October 2022, Haass announced he would be departing from his position at CFR in June 2023. He was succeeded by former U.S. trade representative Michael Froman. .. more

Political science 75%
Economics 14%

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Men of War, Rest in Peace (November 7, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. Here in New York City much of the conversation is about the new mayor. The vote was more decisive than many predicted, as Zohran Mamdani won an outright majority of the votes cast. He proved to be the best candidate. He ran on doing something about the high cost of living at a time many New Yorkers are finding it hard to make ends meet and worry that the future will only make it harder to do so.

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A Moment of Truce (October 30, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. President Trump spent much of the week in Asia. His meeting with Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, went as well as (or better than) anyone could have imagined given that a hallmark of this administration’s foreign policy has been to beat up on allies. Trump and Takaichi got off to an excellent start, which hopefully bodes well for America’s relationship with arguably its most important ally. It helped that she was an ally of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the foreign leader who had the closest relationship with Trump during his first term. Takaichi played up this connection, gifting Trump one of Abe’s putters.

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The Bulldozer (October 23, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. The title of this week’s newsletter – “The Bulldozer” – stems from President Trump’s demolition of the East Wing of the White House or, to channel Prince, with the Wing formerly known as East. The East Wing, constructed over a century ago and modified several times since, housed the Office of the First Lady and the White House So…

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Special Edition: Free at Last (October 14, 2025)

Welcome to a special edition of Home & Away. The good news is that the hostages are free and back home in Israel. Also welcome is the ceasefire in Gaza; humanitarian supplies are reportedly flowing in. Historians can and will debate whether all this could have been achieved earlier, but good news from the Middle East - or, for that matter, anywhere thes…

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Politics Roundup: Maciej Kisilowsk thinks that blaming Russia won’t stop the populist right, Aziz Huq explains how the Supreme Court unleashed Trump’s war on the states, and more

Also with Mariana Mazzucato, Ian Buruma, Antara Haldar, and Shashi Tharoor Also with Mariana Mazzucato, Ian Buruma, Antara Haldar, and Shashi Tharoor

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Special Edition: Two Years After October 7, Progress is Finally at Hand (October 6, 2025)

Welcome to this special edition of Home & Away. It comes two years after the horrific terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, in which more than 1,200 Israelis and others were brutally murdered and 251 were taken hostage.

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The Enemy From Within (October 1, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. It arrives early this week given both the flood of news and the arrival of Yom Kippur. For those of you observing the holiday, I wish you a meaningful but easy fast.

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Par for the Coarse (September 29, 2025)

Welcome to this special edition of Home & Away. The 45th Ryder Cup is now in the history books. For the 11th time in the last 15 competitions, the Europeans lifted the cup.

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Divider-in-Chief (September 26, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. There is a lot of news, little of it good. There is the further politicization of the Justice Department and the weaponization of executive authority. I speak of course of the indictments of former FBI director James Comey. And there are new U.S.

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Observer-in-Chief (September 18, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. This week’s edition is arriving a day early and a page shorter than usual, as I am about to board a plane for Paris. Also, John Ellis and I just released the third episode of our still new podcast, “Alternate Shots,” and some of what I would have written here I said

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Democracy at Risk (September 12, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. This newsletter began with the premise that it was necessary to look at developments both inside and outside the United States to make sense of what is going on in the country and the world. The past week, one that marked the 24

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Post-American World (September 5, 2025)

Welcome to Home & Away. It was a tough week for President Trump, as a good many court decisions (including on tariffs) challenged his expansive use of what he claims to be his presidential powers. That said, it ain’t over till it’s over, and the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in. Speaking of things legal, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta made a wise

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