Skip To Main Content
Michael Brenes on Muck Rack

Michael Brenes

New Haven
As seen in: Foreign Exchanges, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, Newsweek Europe, Yahoo Finance, POLITICO, Substack, Taylor & Francis Online, The Hill, Vox and
Historian @ Yale. New book: “The Rivalry Peril." Next: a history of the War on Terror for @groveatlantic. Substack: “Warfare & Welfare.” Avi by @SeanMurray_Art.
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work. Claim your profile

Get in touch with Michael

Contact Michael, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Is this you?

As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile

Articles

The Transactional Trap

|
By Michael Brenes
| Foreign Affairs Verified
The post–World War II order is dead. In its place, countries are fast adopting a values-neutral, transactional approach toward foreign policy. China was the progenitor of this approach to international relations: for over a decade, Beijing has pursued quid pro quo arrangements with countries around the world to create new markets and enhance its economic reach, generating diplomatic ties with both autocratic and democratic states.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

In 2025, Trump changed the competition between the United States and China

|
By Lili Pike Verified, Scott Kennedy, Van Jackson, Michael Brenes
| Ex Bulletin
How might one begin to describe the year in U.S.-China relations? A roller coaster? A tightrope walk? A boxing match? Rough seas? A high-stakes game of chess, tug-of-war or poker? Regardless, it certainly kept the staff at Foreign policy on our toes. US President Donald Trump returned to power in January promising to reform the US trade system, and he wasted no time getting to work.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

The Trillion Dollar War Machine

|
By William D. Hartung, Ben Freeman, Nick Cleveland-Stout, Michael Brenes
| quincyinst.org
America spends nearly a trillion dollars a year on its military. This extraordinary spending not only detracts from our ability to address pressing social problems but compels us into foreign wars to justify our vast arsenal. Sold to us in the name of “security,” our military industrial complex actually makes us far less safe. A damning indictment of the conflicts of interest running rampant in the defense establishment. Publishers Weekly Top policy experts William D.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 94 licensed articles (96 Total)