Fareed Zakaria

Fareed Zakaria is an opinion columnist at The Washington Post who writes a long-running weekly column on global politics, U.S. power and the forces reshaping world order. His work sits at the intersection of foreign policy, domestic politics and ideas, using argued analysis rather than reported dispatches. He approaches political stories through strategic context, explaining how leaders, institutions and technologies alter the balance of power.

The dangerous fantasy of a win-win with Putin

Zakaria’s recent columns on Russia and Ukraine show how he dissects strongman politics and the limits of dealmaking with authoritarian leaders. In “The dangerous fantasy of a win-win with Putin,” he argues that the Russian president is not a transactional businessman but a ruler driven by ideology, security fears and a zero-sum view of power.

In coverage of the war in Ukraine he stresses how battlefield developments, sanctions, and external support fit into a broader contest over European security and the post-Cold War settlement. He links Vladimir Putin’s choices to wider trends, such as North Korea’s military support for Russia and debates over realism in foreign policy, to test popular theories against events on the ground.

His writing on Donald Trump’s approach to Russia and China, including Trump’s “pragmatism” on China, treats presidential statements as data points in a larger analysis of how U.S. leaders understand adversaries and manage competition.

Is America losing the world

A core thread in Zakaria’s column is the question of U.S. global leadership and whether America is ceding influence to rivals. Under titles such as “Is America losing the world?”, he examines alliances, military commitments, economic strategy and domestic political dysfunction as pieces of the same puzzle.

He writes about war in Ukraine, tensions in Asia and strains in transatlantic relations with the aim of assessing whether the United States still underpins the international order it helped build. His columns often situate U.S. debates about defense spending, immigration or trade within a narrative about America’s image and leverage abroad. He returns to themes of liberal democracy, “illiberal” trends and the post-American world, weighing whether populist movements and partisan gridlock erode Washington’s ability to lead.

The tone is analytical rather than campaign-focused: he treats party platforms and presidential rhetoric as factors that influence credibility with allies and deterrence against adversaries.

The biggest AI debate now misses the point

Zakaria also writes on technology and artificial intelligence as political and governance issues rather than purely technical ones.

In a column titled “The biggest AI debate now misses the point,” and in pieces syndicated under headings such as “No AI autonomy without human accountability,” he focuses on who will be held responsible when powerful systems fail. He frames AI as a test of regulatory capacity and global coordination, asking whether existing institutions can control tools that cross borders and concentrate power.

These columns connect concerns about automation and surveillance to wider arguments about democracy, human agency and the rule of law. He looks at how governments, companies and international bodies might share oversight, and he is attentive to the risk that technological choices can entrench authoritarian control or destabilize security arrangements.

Spending on infrastructure might not be sexy

Although his primary lens is international, Zakaria frequently turns to U.S. domestic policy when it affects long-term strength and resilience.

In work filed under tags such as “United States” and pieces with titles like “Spending on infrastructure might not be sexy” and “Democrats are solving the wrong problems,” he argues that investment decisions at home shape America’s capacity to compete abroad. He writes about infrastructure, industrial policy and social spending not as isolated budget items, but as foundations for economic dynamism and political stability.

These columns often contrast headline-grabbing cultural fights with less visible issues such as roads, bridges, education and innovation funding.

He connects party strategies and legislative choices to wider questions about whether the United States can maintain productivity, absorb technological change and support a confident middle class. Across this domestic work, he keeps the focus on structural factors that determine whether the country can sustain its role in the world.

Beyond the column, Zakaria hosts a weekly international affairs television program and writes books on democracy, global power shifts and the future of liberal societies.

His print and broadcast roles reinforce each other: he draws on interviews with leaders, historical reading and comparative politics to inform his written analysis. Across topics - from Putin’s war in Ukraine to AI governance and infrastructure spending - his distinctive imprint is the effort to place immediate political controversy inside a larger story about how power is organized and how liberal orders endure or unravel.