Foreign Policy
US magazine on global affairs, diplomacy and security, read by the policy class since 1970.
Last refreshed: 30 March 2026
Can a magazine that shaped the policy class still hold it to account?
Latest on Foreign Policy
- What is Foreign Policy magazine?
- Foreign Policy is a US magazine covering global affairs, geopolitics, and diplomacy, founded in 1970 by Samuel Huntington and Warren Manshel. Originally a quarterly challenging the Vietnam-era policy consensus, it is now a daily digital publication owned by Graham Holdings Company, read primarily by diplomats, policy professionals, and intelligence analysts.Source: Foreign Policy
- Who owns Foreign Policy magazine?
- Foreign Policy has been owned by Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) since 2008. Graham Holdings is the media and education conglomerate controlled by the Graham family, who previously owned The Washington Post.Source: Foreign Policy
- Did Foreign Policy cover the MAGA split over the Iran war?
- Yes. Foreign Policy was cited in reporting on the MAGA Coalition fracture over Iran war costs, with figures including Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly criticising war supporters within the Coalition.Source: Lowdown
- What is the difference between Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs?
- Foreign Policy, owned by Graham Holdings, publishes daily digital analysis aimed at a broad policy-professional audience. Foreign Affairs, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, is a bimonthly journal targeting an academic and diplomatic readership. Foreign Policy is more current-affairs driven; Foreign Affairs is more long-form and theoretical.Source: editorial
- Has Foreign Policy covered Iran and the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
- Yes. Foreign Policy provided analytical context on Iran's 2026 World Cup withdrawal and the geopolitical pressures behind it, including Trump's travel ban barring nationals from 39 countries and FIFA's deferral of a formal decision to its April Congress.Source: Lowdown
Background
Foreign Policy is an American news and analysis magazine covering global affairs, geopolitics, and US foreign policy. Founded in 1970 by Samuel Huntington and Warren Manshel as a quarterly journal challenging the Vietnam-era consensus, it evolved into a daily digital publication with a print quarterly. Owned by Graham Holdings Company since 2008, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and read primarily by diplomats, policy professionals, intelligence analysts, and academics.
Across Lowdown coverage Foreign Policy appears as a cited analytical source in three separate topics. Its reporting informed analysis of the MAGA coalition fracture over Iran war costs and the dismantling of the US sanctions enforcement apparatus . It also provided context on the FIFA World Cup disruption triggered by Iran's withdrawal .
Foreign Policy occupies a structural tension: it is both an observer of Washington strategy and embedded within the establishment it covers. Critics from the populist right treat it as a mouthpiece for interventionism; critics from the left question its proximity to the national security state. That dual suspicion may itself be a sign of its centrality: in every crisis Lowdown tracks, it is the publication officials read and leak to.
