An article on the origins of the names of African countries was recently published in Quartz. It includes a map of the continent in 1885, shortly after the Berlin Conference. Portuguese and Arabic traders and explorers are the origins of some names, European mispronunciation of tribal names are the origins of others.

Every year CFR.org editor Bob McMahon and I record a summer reading episode of CFR’s “The World Next Week” podcast. We usually do it in June as we entertain visions of leisurely summer days yet to co…

Lord Frederick Lugard, in a bid to simplify his colonial duties and subsidize his northern territory with his southern territory, signed a piece of paper on January 1, 1914 and created the political space that is Nigeria.

As 2017 comes to a close, here are ten influential U.S. foreign policy figures who passed away this year.