Kim spent this year developing a burgeoning “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Russia, which led North Korea to send troops to participate in the war in Ukraine, Kori Schake wrote in November.

A spate of coups across sub-Saharan Africa has eroded the regional bloc’s credibility, Jessica Moody wrote in June.

Navalny, 47, was serving time in a penal colony in the Arctic Circle, FP’s Amy Mackinnon wrote in our obituary.

As container ships grow larger, they require similarly massive logistical demands, FP’s Elisabeth Braw wrote in March.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party remained in power, but with a diminished mandate that caught pollsters by surprise, Devesh Kapur wrote in June.

Following Raisi’s death, Iranians voted in reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is now facing a reckoning over a controversial hijab law that was paused in December, Sina Toossi writes.

Another wave of protests swept through Georgia in November, when the government announced it was delaying its plans to join the European Union, Ani Chkhikvadze writes.

China intensified its aggression in the South China Sea in 2024—but many of the countries that Beijing hoped to scare off are becoming more assertive in response, FP’s Keith Johnson wrote in June.

Rutte—a “man of habit” who “hates surprises”—has been methodically preparing to take the helm of NATO for years, FP’s Caroline de Gruyter wrote in June.

Biden stepped down from his reelection campaign shortly after the incident. But he can still use his lame-duck period to shore up his “fragile legacy,” Julian E. Zelizer writes.

As athletes battled for gold medals, Macron and Hidalgo were vying with each other for a political popularity bump from the Games, Michele Barbero wrote in July.

The assassination—claimed by Israel—demonstrated a “colossal intelligence failure” on the part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Kasra Aarabi and Jason M. Brodsky wrote in August.

Brazil’s courts have stepped up their moderation of online activity in recent years due to concerns about anti-democratic movements, FP’s Catherine Osborn wrote in Latin America Brief in September.

Francis’s focus on social and economic justice has incensed many of the Catholic Church’s conservatives, FP’s Cameron Abadi and Adam Tooze discussed in their podcast Ones and Tooze in April.

Although she worked as a scientist for years afterward, Sheinbaum’s initial political awakening came during her time as a student activist, Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert wrote in May.

Protesters have contested the results in the months since—and new President Daniel Chapo is also dealing with a protracted terrorism problem in the nation’s north, Tendai Marima wrote in October.

The election ended more than half a century of one-party rule in the country—and contributed to a regional trend of young voters ousting old-guard governments, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi wrote in Africa Brief in November.

Incumbent Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. handily beat his rival—who happened to be his brother-in-law, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reported in World Brief.

France’s year of political gridlock prompted FP’s Emma Ashford and Matthew Kroenig to debate whether democracies are doomed to dysfunction.

Trump made the comment directly to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is also facing a popularity crisis and some calls for his resignation at home, Justin Ling writes.