Recommended by The Cosmopolitan Globalist
This is a terrific resource if you're interested in news and analysis about migration in the Western Hemisphere—"from Canada to Argentina, from Barbados to Mexico, and everything in between," in Jordi Amaral's words. It's extremely thorough.
Eamonn is extremely well-informed about Spanish and Catalan politics and Argentina, and he sometimes writes about the UK and Ireland, too. (About which he's also well-informed.) He's on the right side of the war for liberal democracy.
"Launched in 2004 on “Blogspot,” Carpetblog, despite its extremely niche appeal, has outlasted most platforms. We clawed our way to becoming one of the most read English language blogs in the southern Caucasus. Then blogs went away. Facebook and Twitter are a useless pestilence. We’re being told email newsletters are The Next Big Thing. Trust that our interests are the same. Only the delivery mechanism has changed."
Nicolas Tenzer is an international security expert who has had a long career as a senior civil servant in France. He writes about strategy, international relations, security, information, and intelligence. But above all, he writes with passion and rare moral conviction about Russia and Ukraine.
Adam Tooze hardly needs my recommendation, since he's the world's most famous economic historian, but I join the world in saying you'll find Chartbook interesting. It features his writing, statistics, charts, links, and book recommendations, and they're always interesting.
Foreign policy for global development and international affairs insiders. They say: "Think of it as 'War on the Rocks' or 'The Hill' but for the UN-crowd and world news junkies of all stripes."
This is Edward Lucas's newsletter about the efforts of Russia and China to undermine the sovereignty and cohesion of the West; their tactics, strategy, and goals; and the strengths and weaknesses of our countermeasures. Unfortunately, Active Measures isn't very active--he doesn't post often--but when he does, it's worth it.
James Dorsey should be better known. He's a terrific journalist who covers geopolitics, relations between the Middle East and Asia, big power rivalry and its impact on the Middle East and Eurasia, religious soft power rivalry, and the politics of sport. You'll learn a lot from him, guaranteed.
Old Turkey hands and professional journalists based in Turkey never miss an issue of this newsletter. There's also a Turkish-language version, in-depth reports, and a variety of news tracking tools available to subscribers. (And if you follow Turkish news obsessively, you'll take special delight in their clever headlines.)
Shay Katiri grew up in Iran, he's a native Persian speaker, and he's one of the best people you could talk to if you want to understand Iran, Russia, and trans-Atlantic security. (We've had him on our podcast, and we should do that again soon.)
My friend Tim Mak used to be an NPR investigative correspondent in Ukraine. When NPR downsized, he decided Ukraine was too important to abandon. So he struck out on his own in Substack. A former US Army combat medic, he's been based in Kyiv since the onset of the full-scale war. He wants his readers to understand the stories of the real people whose lives make up the statistics and the headlines.
The Bulwark doesn't need my recommendation, either--everyone knows who they are--but I'm recommending them anyway because they deserve it. I listen to Charlie's podcast every weeknight before I go to bed, which is how I get as caught up on the latest American insanity as I need to be to do my job without outright losing my mind. And I love the rest of them, too. *Also: If you haven't read Tim Miller's book--"Why We Did It"--you should. He's a gloriously talented writer.)
Monique Camarra's EuroFile is the most useful resource on Substack, by far, for people who want a detailed, daily update on the war in Ukraine and related events in Russia. I know you've already got a lot to read, but this is the one you *have* to read.
Symposium is Rob Tracinski's answer to the Cosmopolitan Globalist, except that it isn't globalist, since it's focused on the US. He's trying to answer some of the same questions we are, though: He invites writers, academics, and public figures to his symposium discuss the ailing state of political liberalism and what to do about it. (Claire's on one of his podcasts.)
Since I discovered this Substack it's been one of the first I read for news from Israel.
This should be your go-to source for Asia news, analysis, and opinion on national and regional issues in Asia. It's an award-winning site that's widely read by CEOs, diplomats, and economists across the region. Contributors include not just journalists but specialists in finance, diplomacy, science, and the arts. They say they have "no ideology other than a belief in the benefits of a free media." I love them.
If you're interested in the academic literature on international relations, Dan Drezner (who teaches international politics at Tufts) presents it engagingly, which is more than can be said of the literature itself.