Ishaan Tharoor

Washington, D.C.

Foreign affairs columnist and anchor of Today's WorldView, the Post's daily column and newsletter on global politics

Education: Yale University, BA, honors in history and ethnicity, race and migration

Ishaan Tharoor is a columnist on the foreign desk of The Washington Post, where he authors the Today's WorldView newsletter and column. In 2021, he won the Arthur Ross Media Award in Commentary, a prize administered by the American Academy of Diplomacy. He previously was a senior editor and correspondent at Time magazine, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York. He also periodically teaches an undergraduate seminar at Georgetown University on digital affairs and the global age.
Latest from Ishaan Tharoor

Away from war, Ukraine’s soccer stars ready for battle

For Ukraine’s soccer team, the Euros offer their beleaguered nation a moment in the sun.

June 17, 2024
Members of Ukraine's soccer team before a qualification match against Italy in November.

The small country in the middle of the world’s crises

Cyprus’s top diplomat explains how the island nation finds itself engaged in conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

June 14, 2024
Tourists visit the sea caves during sunset at in southern coastal resort of Ayia Napa in southeast Mediterranean island of Cyprus, in May 2022.

Israel shrugs at Palestinian civilian casualties. So does Hamas.

In new report, Hamas’s leader in Gaza is said to describe Palestinian civilian deaths as “necessary sacrifices.”

June 12, 2024
A woman and child walk among debris, the aftermath of Israeli strikes at the area on Saturday in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza this month.

A right-wing Europe is here to stay

The European Union, long hailed as a post-national bastion of liberal values, is not just hospitable to illiberal nationalism, but possibly a crucible for a new age of right-wing politics in the West.

June 9, 2024
A person holds a voting stamp while exiting a voting cabin during European and local elections in Baleni, Romania, on Sunday.

The West’s liberal establishment clings to D-Day’s legacy

American and European leaders are using the occasion to voice new warnings for the future.

June 7, 2024
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron while arriving at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery on Thursday in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

The war in Gaza looms over Asia’s geopolitics

Western officials may have been unprepared for the depth of sympathies for Gaza among Asian countries — and their frustration over Western hypocrisy.

June 5, 2024
Indonesians shout slogans during a solidarity rally with the Palestinian people outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Saturday.

Zelensky comes to Asia and scolds China

Ukraine’s president is trying to enlist leaders in Asia into a greater project of diplomacy.

June 3, 2024
A photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shaking hands with Indonesia's president-elected Prabowo Subianto before their talks at the Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore.

Netanyahu and Putin are both waiting for Trump

Some foreign leaders may be holding out for a Trump victory.

May 31, 2024
President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Jan. 27, 2020.

Israel’s isolation deepens on the world stage

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself increasingly isolated on the world stage amid various legal challenges and fraying global opinion.

May 24, 2024
Pro-Palestinian students hold up flags outside an occupied Humboldt University on Thursday in Berlin.

The ICC’s battle with Israel is a test of the international order

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders has ignited debate about international law.

May 22, 2024
Anti-government protests outside Israel's Parliament in Jerusalem on Monday.