This CFR Issue Guide provides resources and analysis on President Obama's inauguration and the foreign policy challenges facing his second administration.

The crisis of democracy identified in the 1970s never really went away; it was just papered over with temporary solutions and obscured by a series of lucky breaks.

David Ignatius says in looking at a possible nomination of Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense, the issue for the White House "is whether Hagel would be the best manager during an important inflection point in Pentagon history."

Chronic mismanagement by local governments has left a number of California cities teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

In the aftermath of the 2012 U.S. elections, Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei comments on and compares the political systems in the U.S. and China.

Peter Orszag explains that privatization would allow the U.S. Postal Service to free itself from congressional shackles and manage its operations more efficiently.

Peter Orszag writes that the steep federal subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act will make it hard for states to resist expanding their Medicaid programs.

In the first installment of the Renewing America Progress Report and Scorecards, "Road to Nowhere: Federal Transportation Infrastructure Policy" provides a critical assessment of federal transportation policy, including background on major policy initiatives and analysis of what's needed to start moving forward.

President Obama's plans for a consolidated trade and commerce department underscores his goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014, but some question how creating a larger organization will increase efficiency.

Peter Orszag discusses how increasing residential isolation of affluent voters contributes to the gridlock plaguing Washington.

In the Wall Street Journal, George P. Shultz writes that unaccountable White House aides are a product of a broken cabinet-nomination process, and this is not the form of government the Founders intended.

Experts discuss the potential that public private collaboration can have toward achieving the goals of U.S. foreign policy, private business, and civil society.

Experts discuss the potential that public private collaboration can have toward achieving the goals of U.S. foreign policy, private business, and civil society.

The United States may be the largest donor of foreign assistance in the world, but it ranks among the lowest in terms of quality and effectiveness of its aid, according to a report by the Center for Global Development (CGD), in cooperation with the Brookings Institution, that assesses more than 150 countries' foreign aid money.

Listen to Representative Nita Lowey, chair, subcommittee on state, foreign operations, and related programs, House committee on appropriations (D-NY), discuss her views on the U.S. national security apparatus and the balance between civilian and military resources.

Leslie Gelb spends a day with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton as she goes through her "grueling and inspirational" regular duties.

Edward Alden writes that the Department of Homeland Security "has yet to become a whole that adds up to more than its parts," reviewing books by its first two secretaries, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff.

The handoff of foreign policy responsibility from one U.S. presidential administration to another has proven risky in many cases. The next transition occurs at a time of extraordinary global challenges.

Charles A. Kupchan and Peter L. Trubowitz respond to Joseph M. Parent and Joseph Bafumi’s criticism of their article “Dead Center: The Demise of Liberal Internationalism in the United States”