Thanks to the country's favorable location on the map, China's influence is expanding on land and at sea, from Central Asia to the South China Sea and from the Russian Far East to the Indian Ocean.

To defeat piracy in centuries past, governments pursued a more active defense at sea and a political solution on land. The current piracy epidemic off the coast of East Africa requires many of the same tactics.

The golden age of globalization is over due to slower, costlier, and less certain transportation. In retrospect, Americans may lament too little globalization, not too much.

President Obama has called for tweaks to the way terror suspects are monitored, but some observers wonder whether the changes will be sufficient to prevent a repeat of the Christmas Day terror plot.

Repercussions of the failed Christmas Day bombing continue, with policy debate focused on Yemen as a new al-Qaeda front and possible delays shuttering Guantanamo Bay.

The Obama administration has initiated sweeping reviews of homeland security policies set up after 9/11. But any plans for far-reaching changes to the apparatus that oversees domestic security could face congressional pushback.

Immigration reform gets scant mention on the U.S. election trail, but experts expect either leading presidential candidate to make policy reforms a priority.

Terrorist attacks in Afghanistan from safe havens across the border in Pakistan increase amid Islamabad's efforts to strike peace with militants.

Throngs of holiday travelers push the limits of already taxed security and air traffic control systems, making for an unsavory Thanksgiving recipe.

U.S. immigration reform has become a rogue political issue, inflaming passions from local town boards to the presidential campaign trail.

The first commercial flight of the world’s largest passenger jet previews a showdown for control of global aerospace manufacturing.

Labor disputes threaten to undermine a decades-long effort to make the Deutsche Bahn, Europe’s largest railroad, more efficient and less dependent on the state.

New technologies hold promise for improving airport security, but against growing threats, a holistic, “layered” approach is needed.

An “open skies” agreement between Europe and America could shake up the airline industry and usher in a wave of mergers.

New legislation seeks to increase oversight of the House panel at the center of the Dubai Ports controversy amid concerns that the bill could scare off foreign investment.

Congressional Democrats, in power for the first time in twelve years, quickly passed homeland security measures long stymied by Republicans. Experts give mixed reviews to the proposals, and some Republicans complain about a lack of debate.

The U.S. Congress has signaled intentions to tighten scrutiny over foreign investments in the United States. Legislators point to national security concerns but critics warn of economic nationalism.

Dubai Ports World has agreed to divest itself of its U.S. ports holdings that were the focal point of a firestorm in Congress over the last two weeks. Though the move should calm immediate fears, the larger questions of port security and foreign control of U.S. infrastructure are likely to linger.

The issue of "protecting" vital infrastructure from foreign control—an issue that arose in 2005 during an unsuccessful bid by a Chinese company to purchase an American oil firm—is again in the news. This time, the infrastructure in question is six major U.S. shipping terminals that have been acquired, with U.S. approvel, by a UAE firm. The political backlash at state and city levels is quickly building.

The U.S. Senate is debating punitive immigration measures as the new federal budget proposes heavy investments in "hardening" America's borders. The issue adds fuel to the election-year fire—particularly in the American southwest—as political passions rise.