An illustration shows the U.S. Capitol on a blue field casting a long shadow.Oriana Fenwick illustration for Foreign Policy
List of Shadow Government articles
Shadow Government
The view from the Democratic opposition.
This is ForeignPolicy’s forum for Democratic policymakers and experts to analyze U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration—and to incubate ideas for a future Democratic White House. FP’s Shadow Government channel dates back to 2008, switching between Democratic and Republican critiques of the sitting U.S. administration. Today, with a Republican administration in the White House, Shadow Government is an insider’s guide to the debate among Democrats over the future of their party’s national security policies.
A brightly colored array of phone shapes with geopolitical images and tittok controls on them with headlines like: POV: Xi's Just Not That Into You atop Xi Jinping's face and Vladimir, STOP! atop Vladimir Putin's face.
An Uzbek woman stands behind a cotton plant covered with puffy white cotton balls ready for harvest. The woman wears a green headscarf and gloves. Other cotton plants are visible in the field extending out behind her.
Three members of the National Guard are seen from behind as they stand in front of Washington's Reflecting Pool at dusk, the sky and the water lit up orange with the sunset. The Lincoln Memorial stands at the shore across the water. All three guard members wear green camouflage uniforms, matching hats, and bulletproof vests that say "National Guard" on their backs.
Sharaa sits in an ornately decorated armchair with his hands folded in his lap. He is in his young 40s, wearing a suit and a beard. Barrack, an older bald man who also wears a suit, sits in another armchair at a diagonal. They face small low tables with water glasses on them; a Syrian flag hangs in the corner.
Biden walks between massive white columns outside of the White House. He wears a dark suit and a blue tie, and his head is tilted down toward the ground.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter and departing the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 25.
An Iranian woman wearing a black dress and black headscarf is seen in profile as she walks on a sidewalk in front of a brightly colored wall mural. The red-white-and-blue mural depicts two men seated at a table, identified with placards as representing the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. official wears military fatigues from the waist down, but a suit on his top half.
Trump and Netanyahu stand shoulder to shoulder as they pose for media. Netanyahu smiles slightly; Trump has a serious expression and gestures with one hand. The hood of a vehicle with a small American flag displayed on it is visible in the foreground
