Robert McMahon writes, "U.S. democracy promotion policy appears to be at a crossroads, with big divisions within both parties over how much of it we should be doing."

In this Financial Times op-ed, Jagdish Bhagwati warns that Mr. Obama, who has properly denounced unilateralism, should not undermine the respect for the rule of law that the WTO embodies at the multilateral level.

Peter Beinart writes, "Obama's opening act looks a lot more like Bush's than like Bill Clinton's, even though Clintonites populate his administration."

Leslie H. Gelb discusses the Obama Administration's selection of Leon Panetta as CIA Director.

Michael Gerson argues that, "as the specifics emerge, the ambitions of [Obama's] campaign pledges are ever more clear."

Seven years after the 9/11 attacks, Canada is still trying to cope with the new border regime that has been an enduring legacy of the terrorist attacks. In this Ottawa Citizen article, Edward Alden urges President-elect Obama to begin rebuilding trust on border issues with Canada.

Amity Shlaes looks at lessons for President-elect Obama in FDR's experimentation during the Great Depression.

Michael Gerson writes that Obama "will require sober supporters--and loyal critics--to get through challenges" in 2009.

Walter Russell Mead calls for the Obama administration to engage with both the Israelis and Palestinians more deeply than past U.S. administrations.

Richard Haass and Martin Indyk argue that Obama "can capitalise on new opportunities rather than be overwhelmed by old realities in this critical and troubled region."

Bill Richardson, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary, lays out a new policy agenda for the U.S. relationship with Latin America in this essay. Richardson says the Bush administration "all but ignored" Latin America. He calls on the incoming administration to engage all Latin American countries diplomatically, among other policy recommendations.

The Hoover Institution's David Brady, Douglas Rivers and Laurel Harbridge describe a shift in the U.S. electorate toward the Democratic Party.

In this Washington Post op-ed, Amity Shlaes writes that huge public works projects, such as the one put forward by President-elect Obama, often fail to revive national economies, as evidenced by the example of Japan in the 1990s.

Richard Haass writes that "Americans must accept China's rise. There's no guarantee we could prevent it anyway, and the attempt would only worsen the rivalry."