As a top destination for foreign investment, the United States seeks to strike a balance between national security and its commitment to open markets, explains this Backgrounder.

The U.S.-Japan alliance has been the cornerstone of Washington's security policy in East Asia, but rising threats from China, North Korea, and economic recovery in both countries have raised questions about the future of the rapport.

Sarin, one of the world's most lethal chemical weapons, has long been stockpiled but is rarely used by states or terrorists. Allegations of attacks on civilians in Syria, if substantiated, would represent a departure from longstanding international practice, this Backgrounder explains.

The Fed, which celebrates its centennial in 2013, has been transformed in the past decade, expanding its role of maintaining full employment and stable prices to deploying trillions of dollars to boost the U.S. economy.

As the United States draws down forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban insurgency continues to challenge the government in Kabul while holding out the prospect of a negotiated settlement, explains this Backgrounder.

The movement to recognize same-sex marriage continues to gain traction worldwide, though homophobia still persists within societies. This Backgrounder examines policies toward same-sex couples in select countries.

Conceived as principal defenders of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has evolved into a vast institution of political, economic, and military power.

After over three decades of existence, the Group of Eight (G8) is struggling to defend its relevance amid criticism of its limited membership and lack of a compliance mechanism.

Global support for the "responsibility to protect" doctrine weakened after the UN-endorsed no-fly zone that helped topple Libya's regime, and debate continues over the threshold for mounting armed humanitarian interventions, explains this Backgrounder.

Both the Bush and Obama administrations have sought to justify controversial domestic surveillance programs amid pointed criticism from Congress and rights activists, explains this Backgrounder.

The United States and a growing number of countries have intensified sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, weakening its economy, but debate persists over their impact.

Global monitors say Iran's human rights situation is poor and unlikely to improve amid a climate of political uncertainty and growing external pressures. But activists urge continued international scrutiny of Iran's violations.

South Africa in the post-apartheid period has registered steady growth, but mounting problems over inequality threaten the continent's economic engine, explains this Backgrounder.

With the economic benefits of broadband access rising, experts continue to debate how U.S. digital infrastructure compares to its international peers. This Backgrounder examines the issues.

U.S. missile defense in the twenty-first century is focused on emerging threats from North Korea and Iran, but critics say these systems are too costly and largely unproven, explains this Backgrounder.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has focused his second term in office to implementing an audacious set of economic policies designed to spur the country out of its decades-long deflation and sluggish growth, explains this Backgrounder.

A resurgent al-Qaeda in Iraq, allied with jihadist fighters in neighboring Syria, constitutes a considerable threat to regional security, explains this Backgrounder.

China's recent push to renew the Six Party Talks, stalled since 2008, has raised hopes for progress on the peninsula despite worries that Pyongyang may have restarted its old nuclear reactor.

The election of pope to lead the world's one billion Catholics stirs debate over the spiritual authority of the pontiff and the church's role in the world.

Antitrust law, which has evolved primarily through landmark Supreme Court cases, plays an essential role in the maintenance of efficient markets and promotion of long-term U.S. economic prosperity.