Mohamad Bazzi says the people of Lebanon are once again staring into a political abyss.

Kara C. McDonald and Stewart M. Patrick offer recommendations for U.S. leadership in United Nations Security Council reform and expansion.

This Wall Street Journal editorial argues that the permanent crisis-management fund will only make permanent crisis more likely.

Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive and co-chief investment officer of PIMCO, writes in the Financial Times that the package of emergency loans to Ireland will not significantly change the economic landscape of Europe.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov writes of the warming relations between the NATO block and the Russian federation and highlights the importance of strengthening the Russia-NATO Council ahead of the November 20 Summit in Lisbon.

The Obama administration's failure to reach a trade pact with South Korea and craft a strategic agenda for its alliance with Japan bodes ill for bolstering its influence in Asia, writes CFR's Sheila Smith.

The Obama administration should follow its endorsement of India's bid for UN Security Council membership by initiating a plan for Council expansion based on clear criteria for permanent membership, writes CFR's Stewart Patrick.

Stewart M. Patrick examines the relevance of the G20 framework in a web of existing multilateral institutions and groupings.

The French-Russian-German summit in Deauville this week sought to bring Russia closer to the West. Russia accepted an invitation to next month's NATO summit, but CFR's Charles Kupchan says Moscow questions the sincerity of Euro-Atlantic overtures.

Stewart M. Patrick argues that the current crisis in the European Union presents an opportunity to overhaul the EU's institutions.

Joel D. Hirst discusses efforts by Honduras to rejoin the Organization of American States.

For all the success of German reunification, it left behind fateful seeds that sprouted into the current eurozone crisis. To overcome the current downturn, Europe should finish the job started two decades ago and retrofit the European Union with stronger political institutions, writes Mary Elise Sarotte in Foreign Affairs.

Mohamad Bazzi discusses what Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was trying to accomplish with his UN speech.

President Obama's UN General Assembly speech exhorted delegates to support human rights, democratic reforms, and the Mideast peace process. He will likely see a sluggish response, writes CFR's James Lindsay.

Summaries and links to the seminal United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions for the post-colonial period, focusing on those related to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East.

In this New York Times op-ed, Eileen Donahoe weighs in on U.S. participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council, a year after taking a seat as a member.

Charles A. Kupchan says the European Union may be coming to an end.

The growth and strengthening of Afghanistan's domestic security forces is seen as key to an eventual U.S. exit, but some analysts caution that progress will remain slow.

This report by Amnesty International compiles interviews from North Koreans documenting widespread malnutrition-induced illness and lack of health care, both due to poor government policies.