The FPA’s Must Reads (October 19 – October 25)

The End of Hypocrisy
By Henry Farrell and Martha Finnemore
Foreign Affairs

In one of this week’s most talked about articles, Farrell and Finnemore assess the real threat leakers like Snowden and Manning pose to American diplomacy. Rather than a direct assault on national security, they argue that leakers compromise the U.S.’s ability to act hypocritically and get away with it.

Al Qaeda’s Teenage Fan Club
By Hannah Lucinda Smith
Vice

Al Qaeda’s success in Syria is as much about savvy marketing strategy as it is about political vision. Smith describes how moderate, even friendly, young men are joining extreme jihadist forces.

On the Ground with Syria’s News Struggle
By Matthew Shaer
New Republic

Shaer explores Reyhanli, a town bordering Syria that was once a backwater and has now become the hub of many Syrian citizen journalists. Through accounts given by citizen journalists, Shaer reflects on the difficulties and increased dangers of the Syrian media environment.

Confessions of a Drone Warrior
Matthew Power
GQ

Described as a warrior from afar, Brandon Bryant is part of the U.S. Air Force squadron that operates drones. Matthew Power describes in detail Bryant’s path to becoming “the 21st-century American killing machine.”

The Stolen Ones
By J. David McSwane
Herald Tribune

The story of Camille Johnson’s daughter is set against the backdrop of child sex trafficking, or what McSwane calls an underground economy that turns at least 100,000 children into victims of sex trade in the U.S. each year.

Enduring Exile
By Alia Malek
Guernica Magazine

Alia Malek tells the compelling story of how one Armenian family that had called Syria home for more than half a century decided to repatriate in the midst of the Syrian civil war.

Blogs:

A Candid Discussion with Bjorn Lomborg
Breaking Bad in the Most Fragile Country
Political Islam: Revival or Crisis? (Part ½)
Some Realities Behind China’s Call For a “De-Americanized World”
U.S.-India Relations: The Overshadowed Summit