There is power in understanding Help keep Vox's explanatory journalism free for all by making a gift today.

World

Deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria will add to the region’s humanitarian struggles

The massive earthquakes come on top of decades of civil war in the region, which has created millions of refugees and a spiraling economic crisis.

By Jen Kirby

The balloon affair is a Sputnik moment

As China’s balloon deflates, a new space race is rising.

By Jonathan Guyer

How this billionaire lost half his net worth in a matter of weeks

By Emily Stewart February 7

The balloon thing is a bad sign for US-China relations

By Jen Kirby February 6

The US’s empty commitment to a two-state solution

By Jonathan Guyer February 6

The labor strikes in Britain are years in the making

By Ellen Ioanes February 4

How Turkey is ruining NATO’s moment of unity

By Jen Kirby February 4

What can the world learn from China’s “zero-Covid” lockdown?

By Rachel DuRose January 31

How years of instability came to a head in Peru

By Ellen Ioanes January 29

Are we headed toward a “polycrisis”? The buzzword of the moment, explained.

By Daniel Drezner January 28

In the last 48 hours, violence in Israel and Palestine has spiked

By Jonathan Guyer January 27

The Pelosi attack is the culmination of longtime GOP hate-mongering

By Nicole Narea January 27

One year in, both Ukraine and Russia still think they can win

By Jen Kirby January 25

Ukraine’s corruption shake-up, briefly explained

By Jen Kirby January 24

Are we in a new Cold War?

By Michael Bluhm January 24

Ukraine has a new cache of weapons on the way — but not German tanks

By Ellen Ioanes January 22

Jacinda Ardern is a global icon — but she’s still a politician

By Ellen Ioanes January 21

Israel’s new right-wing government is even more extreme than protests would have you think

By Jonathan Guyer January 20

How China came to regret its one-child policy

By Bryan Walsh January 18

The biggest animal welfare crisis you’ve never heard of

By Sophie Kevany January 16

Japan’s plan to ramp up military spending, explained

By Ellen Ioanes January 15

Peru’s violent unrest shows no signs of stopping

By Ellen Ioanes January 15

Iran’s months-long protest movement, explained

By Ellen Ioanes January 15

Republicans didn’t really want to cut the military budget after all

By Jonathan Guyer January 15

How the Taliban’s ban on women aid workers could deepen Afghanistan’s crisis

By Jen Kirby January 11

The root causes of Brazil’s violent protest, explained by an expert

By Jonathan Guyer January 10

What Biden’s immigration restrictions mean for migrants

By Ellen Ioanes January 10

Biden has a chance to push back against Mexico’s anti-democratic turn. Will he take it?

By Christian Paz January 10

What comes after Brazil’s January 8?

By Jen Kirby January 9

Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazil’s seat of power

By Ellen Ioanes January 8

North Korea’s nuclear escalation, explained

By Ellen Ioanes January 7

Putin’s so-called Christmas ceasefire, explained

By Jen Kirby January 6

The treaties that make the world safer are struggling

By Jen Kirby January 5

23 things we think will happen in 2023

By Dylan Matthews, Sigal Samuel, and 2 more January 2

Xi Jinping has abandoned zero-Covid. What happens now?

By Ellen Ioanes January 1

Can art destruction save us from climate destruction?

By Haleema Shah December 22, 2022

The tricky business of putting a dollar value on a human life

By Dylan Matthews December 22, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s unexpected visit to the US, explained

By Jonathan Guyer and Li Zhou December 21, 2022

The far-right threat to liberal democracy in Europe, explained

By Cas Mudde December 21, 2022

A bad year for the bad guys

By Zack Beauchamp December 19, 2022

Peru is in crisis. How did it happen?

By Ellen Ioanes December 17, 2022

Europe’s unprecedented response to Ukrainian refugees faces new challenges

By Jen Kirby December 16, 2022