The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) prides itself in providing training to its interns in research and policy analysis, editorial skills, and in the field of international relations broadly. FPRI interns have gone on to hold key posts in the US government, including first US Ambassador to Kosovo, Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the State Department, Special Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Strategic Advisor to the Commander of Cyber Command, and Undersecretary of Defense. 

Meet Our 2025 Spring Interns

Breaking the Circuit: US-China Semiconductor Controls

In October 2022, the Biden administration introduced export controls to limit China’s access to advanced US semiconductors and technologies, aiming to maintain US technological superiority and address security concerns. These controls, targeting areas such as advanced chips and supercomputer...

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Is Change on the Horizon? Japan’s Domestic Politics

Since its creation in 1955, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has dominated the Japanese Diet, or parliament, winning a majority in almost every election. However, its grip on the Diet is loosening, as shown by the loss of three...

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China’s Defiant Chip Strategy

On October 17, 2022, at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping called for a nationwide effort to “win the battle” in core technologies. The urgency was reflected in the 20th Party Congress report,...

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A New Chapter of Cross-Strait Relations Following the 2024 Taiwanese Elections

Lifting the Eight-Year Curse and the Opinion of the Taiwanese Since the first democratic elections were held in 1996, no political party has ever won the Taiwanese presidential election more than two consecutive times until now, with the Democratic...

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Equatorial Guinea: A Case Study in the Impact of the US-China Rivalry in Africa

Equatorial Guinea is a country that was freed from colonial rule but never truly escaped the influence of the economic superpowers in a globalized world. When Spain granted independence to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in 1968, Francis Macias...

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The Libyan Political Crisis: Implication for Human Trafficking

Background For the eighth year in a row, the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report labeled Libya as a Special Case country. Typically, the Department of State gives a country a score from one to three based on...

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China’s Challenge to the International Economic Order

The United States has led the international economic order for the last seventy-eight years, with only the Soviet Union posing a serious challenge. However, China is starting to pose a severe threat to the United States by trying to...

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Testing European Unity on Ukraine

Ukraine’s counteroffensive appears to be stalling. Part of this derives from Western expectations that Ukraine would continue to make significant gains. The other main reason is Russian adaptation and the digging of massive trenches while Ukraine was preparing for...

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China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy: A Blueprint for Technological Superiority

In an effort to transform the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into the most technologically advanced military in the world, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is systematically reorganizing its science and technology sectors to ensure that new innovations simultaneously advance...

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How Is the Philippines Preparing for Conflict in the South China Sea?

On February 2, 2023, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced the temporary return of American troops to four new military bases in the Philippines, restarting a military presence there that has been dormant for thirty years. These four new...

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