--- title: Russia, China and Corn—Best Policy Reads of the Weekend description: Putin, China and the war over corn canonical: https://time.com/4006366/this-weeks-foreign-policy-must-reads/ author: Ian Bremmer article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-21T16:16:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:21:22.634Z article:section: World og:title: Russia, China and Corn—Best Policy Reads of the Weekend og:description: Putin, China and the war over corn og:url: https://time.com/4006366/this-weeks-foreign-policy-must-reads/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Russia, China and Corn—Best Policy Reads of the Weekend twitter:description: Putin, China and the war over corn twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Week's Foreign Policy Must-Reads  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Aug 21, 2015 4:16 PM CUT  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Aug 21, 2015 4:16 PM CUT **A roundup of the most intelligent takes on global affairs this week** [**Vladimir Putin’s Bonfire of the Delicacies**](http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/18/vladimir-putins-bonfire-of-the-delicacies-russia-food-imports-ban/ "undefined") **– Foreign Policy** --- > “” --- Russian defiance often takes self-destructive forms, but Putin’s popularity is holding steady, and the perception gap between urban and rural citizens continues to widen. [**Corn Wars**](http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122441/corn-wars "undefined") **– The New Republic** --- > “” --- Even in a high-tech world, security of food and water is crucial. [**How Google Could Rig the 2016 Elections**](http://www.politico.eu/article/google-2016-election-us-candidates-search/ "undefined") **– Politico EU** --- > “” --- A less flashy, more interesting idea for remaking _The Manchurian Candidate_ for a 21st century audience. [**Is Donald Trump an American Putin?**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-donald-trump-an-american-putin/2015/08/18/46c3dd38-45db-11e5-8ab4-c73967a143d3%5Fstory.html "undefined") **– Washington Post** --- > “” --- It’s an interesting comparison. People are naturally attracted to leaders who project extraordinary self-confidence and who don’t back down the way ordinary politicians would. It remains to be seen, however, whether the Trump phenomenon can continue when a broader segment of U.S. voters begins to really pay attention. [**Jihad and Girl Power: How ISIS Lured 3 London Teenagers**](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/world/europe/jihad-and-girl-power-how-isis-lured-3-london-teenagers.html?partner=rss&emc=rss "undefined") **– New York Times** --- > “” --- Islam is punk rock? For how long? “Girl power” and jihadi culture won’t mix well over time. Yet another reminder that it will be easier to recruit people than to keep them. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4006366/this-weeks-foreign-policy-must-reads/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4006366/this-weeks-foreign-policy-must-reads/"},"headline":"This Week's Foreign Policy Must-Reads","datePublished":"2015-08-21T16:16:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:21:22.634Z","description":"Putin, China and the war over corn","url":"https://time.com/4006366/this-weeks-foreign-policy-must-reads/","keywords":["russia","China","ISIS","World","President Vladimir Putin","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ian Bremmer","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4006366/this-weeks-foreign-policy-must-reads/","name":"This Week's Foreign Policy Must-Reads"}}]}] ```