The McKinsey Global Institute explains how to increase and create a better American infrastructure while saving money.

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."

"To gun control advocates, the opposition is out of touch with the times, misinterprets the Second Amendment, and is lacking in concern for the problems of crime and violence. To gun control opponents, advocates are naive in their faith in the power of regulation to solve social problems, bent on disarming the American citizen for ideological or social reasons, and moved by irrational hostility toward firearms and gun enthusiasts."

The pending danger of the "fiscal cliff" that faces the United States could mean U.S. abdication of leadership on a range of vital global issues.

Still in its infancy, the international anti-corruption movement has the potential to enhance and augment human-rights rhetoric enormously. Both rely on arguments about justice, fairness, and the rule of law.

Absent a muscular effort by political leaders to contain the crisis, Egypt could be heading into a new season of political violence.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice explains her decision to withdraw her nomination as secretary of state: "I have never shied away from a fight for a cause I believe in. But, as it became clear that my potential nomination would spark an enduring partisan battle, I concluded that it would be wrong to allow this debate to continue distracting from urgent national priorities."

"Europe's leaders were right about the pressure. Monetary union without banking union will not work, and a workable banking union requires at least some elements of fiscal and political union. But they were wrong about the irresistible part. There is no inevitability about what comes next."

"She currently holds the fate of Europe in her hands. If the euro is rescued, Merkel will get most of the credit, and if it falls apart, she will be forced to shoulder the blame. No other German chancellor has had as much power on the European continent as the current one. And yet, ironically enough, none of Merkel's predecessors were as dispassionate about the European Union as the woman currently governing from the Chancellery."

The most recent PricewaterhouseCoopers tax rate study shows that we have undergone a period of significant growth, followed by a sudden economic downturn, and currently, a slow but inconsistent recovery.

Top White House and congressional leaders privately agree that tax reform goes well beyond individuals and rates, and that several changes can be made to craft an economic boom.

Foreign policy experts agree that while President Obama will want to keep his foreign policy focus domestic in his second term, global challenges will force their way into the president's agenda.

Aaron David Miller argues that it may not be possible for President Obama to turn around foreign policy legacy in the second term of his presidency.

The international trade in natural gas--and the rest of the energy business--has been turned upside down. It's as startling as it would be if rivers decided to run upstream.

The GOP is facing some internal conflict as Republicans are finding themselves divided over the issue of immigration reform under President Obama's administration.

The National Intelligence Council has released their fifth installment in a series aimed at providing a framework for thinking about potential global trajectories in the next fifteen to twenty years.

In his second term, Obama wants to pull back Americas involvements abroad and secure a domestic legacy. The international community will keep calling America back into the fray, says the Economist.

Salman Shaikh proposes a path forward for addressing the quickly escalating crisis in Syria.

The challenge that is facing President Obama now is how to regain the ground lost in foreign affairs and shaping U.S. national security policy.

This CRS report investigates what impact, if any, foreign aid dollars are having, and whether foreign aid programs are achieving their intended objectives.