Editors' Picks: Why Irony is the secret to saving democracy, and how the U.S. sought to derail Michelle Bachelet's ascent at the U.N.

If you have problems viewing this email, [view it in a browser.]( [Foreign Policy]( EDITORS' PICKS Sponsored by [ University of London SOAS]( 01/28/2019 Welcome to Editors’ Picks, FP’s daily round-up. Today, we look at what the left keeps getting wrong about the crisis in Caracas, how the Trump administration tried and failed to prevent Michelle Bachelet from becoming the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, and how the Czech Republic is repelling nationalist populism. 1 [INSTALLING A GLASS CEILING:]( Last year the Trump administration mounted an unsuccessful campaign to derail the appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, FP’s Colum Lynch reports. [Read more]( 2 [OUTFOXED IN AFGHANISTAN:]( A former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan says U.S. President Donald Trump will let the Taliban take over again, FP’s Michael Hirsh reports. [Read more]( 3 [OLD TABOOS, NEW WEAPONS:]( With an increasingly unstable alliance with the United States and a nuclear North Korea on the horizon, Japan could break the country’s ultimate taboo and lift a ban on nuclear weapons, William Sposato writes. [Read more]( 4 [A CZECH ON NATIONALISM:]( The Czech Republic has avoided the kind of nationalist populism that is tearing Poland and Hungary apart by not taking itself too seriously, James Traub writes. [Read more]( 5 [DICTATORSHIP AND DENIAL:]( The Western left does need to take a serious look at itself over Venezuela—where far too many observers have failed to grasp that it’s possible to oppose U.S. interventionism without making further excuses for the dictatorship in Caracas, James Bloodworth writes. [Read more]( Sponsored Content [SOAS University of London:]( From disarmament conferences at the UN to war crimes investigations and study tours overseas – The Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS provides a gateway into the international arena that is shaping today’s global relations.[Find out more.]( This email was sent to [{EMAIL}]( by fp@foreignpolicy.com. [UPDATE PROFILE]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [ADVERTISE](mailto:advertise@foreignpolicy.com) [GROUP SALES AND LICENSING](mailto:licensing@foreignpolicy.com) Foreign Policy Magazine is published by the FP Group, a division of Graham Holdings Company. All contents ©2019 The Slate Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 11 DUPONT CIRCLE NW, SUITE 600, WASHINGTON DC 20036