A recent gaffe by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe exposes the tense relations between Japan, China, and South Korea, and "helps explain why the region seems on the brink of not one by several conflicts," says Jonathan Tepperman.

Anya Schmemann remembers life under surveillance in the Soviet Union in light of the recent U.S. embassy staffer's explusion from Moscow.

Laurie Garrett and Maxine Builder offer three recommendations for how the World Health Organization can adapt to an uncertain economic and political environment, without putting the world at risk of a disease outbreak.

Micah Zenko examines U.S. President Barack Obama's May 23, 2013 speech on drone strike and counterterrorism policies. "The enduring impact of Mr. Obama's speech will not be what he says, but whether the new policies are reflected in how drone strikes are conducted, and whether his administration will finally and faithfully engage with the public, more than a decade after the operations began," Zenko writes.

According to Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, "By the president's own reckoning, there does not seem to be an end of war up ahead, but rather a shrinking, a targeting and a restructuring of it."

Child marriage is a global epidemic and a human rights violation that occurs across regions, cultures, and religions. According to Rachel Vogelstein, the success of U.S. efforts to foster economic growth, improve global health, and promote stability and security will grow if this persistent practice comes to an end.

Julia Sweig examines Vice President Biden's upcoming trip to Brazil, Colombia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Micah Zenko and research associate Amelia Wolf shed light on the societal problem of sexual assault. They state that recent attention has focused solely on the issue within military culture, thereby ignoring the root causes and realities of sexual assault in America.

Peter Orszag writes that Americans report feeling like they switch jobs and move to new states more often now than in the past, but data show that the rates of job changes and interstate migration have actually declined.

John Campbell examines Nigeria's ongoing problems: an Islamic insurgency, a security crackdown, and sectarian clashes.

Joshua Kurlantzick critiques President Obama's reaction to the recent Myanmar election.

Edward Alden, Bryan Roberts, and John Whitley argue that the Obama administration can gain the trust of Congress and a skeptical public only by developing and publicly reporting real measures on the effectiveness of border enforcement.

In President Obama's upcoming counterterrorism speech, Robert Chesney and Matthew Waxman explain that the president should focus on three areas that his administration has not followed through in a serious way: closing Guantanamo, working with Congress to put forceful counterterrorism actions on sound legal footing, and making targeted killing more transparent.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon examines women's rights in Afghanistan.

According to Ted Alden, "U.S. tracking of visa overstays is not perfect, but neither is it the massive hole in immigration enforcement that too many in Congress believe exists."

Michael Spence argues that, although research suggests high debt levels have a negative effect on long-term growth, countries cannot restore growth through austerity measures alone.

Ray Takeyh writes about Iran's upcoming election.

Benn Steil's op-ed for Paul Solman's PBS The Business Desk site looks critically at calls for "a new Bretton Woods." He argues that many of the critical precepts behind the 1944 American Bretton Woods blueprint were overturned by the Truman Administration a mere three years later, and that the operation of the Bretton Woods monetary system was far briefer and more troubled than is typically reckoned.

According to Meghan O'Sullivan, U.S. action in Syria may have implications for Iran and its nuclear program.

Gregory Koblentz weighs the U.S. foreign policy options toward Iran.