• Geopolitics
• NATO
• United States
• China
• India

December 30, 2024, 6:00 AM

2024 was marked by elections around the world, including in India, where an estimated 642 million voters turned out over six weeks. After the U.S. election, Donald Trump is set to return to the White House in January. FP staff and contributors have covered what the world should expect from a second Trump presidency, especially for U.S. allies in Europe. Another area that will remain in the spotlight in the year to come is the U.S.-China relationship.

Foreign Policy’s coverage of these topics was popular throughout the year. Here are 10 of 2024’s most read stories, as measured by website traffic among subscribers.

1. Two Years On, What’s Next in Ukraine?

By FP contributors, Feb. 19

In February, Russia’s war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark. FP asked eight contributors to weigh in on the situation on the ground and key issues for the months ahead. Writers discussed Ukraine’s strategy; the course of the war; and its global consequences, including changes in the China-Russia partnership and strategic challenges for the European Union and the United States.

2. Ukraine Has a Pathway to Victory

By Rose Gottemoeller and Michael Ryan, Jan. 8

Writing in January, Rose Gottemoeller and Michael Ryan assessed Ukraine’s use of missiles, drones, and air defenses. “Ukraine thus has made significant strides denying Russia control of both the sea and airspace over and around its territory, thereby preventing the Russian Navy and Air Force from operating with impunity,” they write. “But is that enough for Kyiv to win?”

Gottemoeller and Ryan examine how new defense technologies could comprise a powerful “combination of capabilities.”

3. Trump’s Return Would Transform Europe

By Hal Brands, June 26

For the Summer 2024 issue, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies professor Hal Brands considered the future of Europe—specifically, a Europe facing the prospect of less involvement from the United States. “Today, as old irritants persist and new challenges pull Washington’s attention in other directions, U.S. skepticism toward Europe is stronger than ever,” he argues.

Brands describes scenarios for the continent ranging from the optimistic to the fragmented and divided—and what these outcomes might mean for Washington in turn.

4. Europe Alone

By FP contributors, July 1

In the summer issue’s cover story, nine thinkers examined the challenges facing Europe in 2024 and going forward. Contributors explain how the project of European integration has shifted in the wake of war, how Europe can improve defense, and how recent changes in national politics affect the bloc’s future.

5. How Primed for War Is China?

By Michael Beckley and Hal Brands, Feb. 4

Doug Chayka illustration for Foreign Policy

“How likely is China to start a war? This may be the single-most important question in international affairs today,” Michael Beckley and Hal Brands wrote earlier this year. Furthermore, how worried should observers be? In this essay, the authors take a historical look at China’s changing circumstances and assess risk indicators.

6. Modi’s Messenger to the World

By Rishi Iyengar, April 5

FP’s Spring 2024 issue, published ahead of India’s general elections, included a profile of the country’s external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar. As a politician, Jaishankar has spearheaded “an Indian foreign policy that has been a marked departure from that of previous governments at least in style, if not necessarily always substance,” FP’s Rishi Iyengar writes.

7. The Reason China Can’t Stop Its Decline

By Howard W. French, Jan. 23

The conventional wisdom on China has shifted but still misses the bigger picture, according to FP columnist Howard French. In January, he explained various factors that commentators have recently pointed to when analyzing China’s slowing economic growth. “The real problem,” French writes, “is that China has waited this long to grapple with these issues in the first place.”

8. The New Idea of India

By Ravi Agrawal, April 8

Also in the spring issue, FP editor in chief Ravi Agrawal examined the stakes of India’s vote as Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought a third consecutive term. “Modi has expanded India’s presence on the world stage and, with it, his own popularity,” Agrawal writes. “But focusing too much on one man can be a distraction from understanding India’s trajectory.”

9. FP’s Live Coverage of the U.S. Election

By FP staff and contributors

During this year’s U.S. presidential election, FP staff writers and contributors published running updates on the vote and its global impacts—from key results and early appointments to analysis on how other governments reacted and what they might expect from Trump 2.0. Browse the page here, and follow our continuing coverage of the Trump transition.

10. What Trump’s Win Means for U.S. Foreign Policy

By FP staff, Nov. 6

FP’s news team assesses what a second Trump term might bring for U.S. policy on China, the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, NATO, and more. Although another Trump administration is likely to return to some of the goals and approaches that characterized his first term, it will face many new geopolitical challenges. FP’s reporters explain what to watch in the year to come.