Julia Sweig shares her impressions regarding ongoing and future political, economic, and social changes in Cuba.

With concise historical analysis and forward-looking prescriptions, Pathways to Freedom offers an authoritative and accessible look at what countries must do to build durable and prosperous democracies—and what the United States and others can do to help.

Isobel Coleman and Terra Lawson-Remer share seven lessons from their new book, Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions.

The U.S. education system is not as internationally competitive as it used to be; in fact, the United States has slipped ten spots in both high school and college graduation rates over the past three decades, according to a new report and scorecard from the Council on Foreign Relations' Renewing America initiative, which examines the domestic foundations of U.S. power. U.S. national security is directly linked to issues such as education because shortcomings among American workers threaten the country's ability to compete with other countries and set a compelling example internationally.

"It is troubling that someone who lectured on constitutional law for a dozen years…would misidentify the president's primary pledge and obligation," Micah Zenko writes. In this article, Zenko highlights the discrepancies between constitutional obligations of the U.S. presidency and what President Obama and former President Bush have identified as primary obligations.

The scorecard infographic and accompanying progress report, "Remedial Education: Federal Education Policy," highlights the main challenges facing the U.S. education system and assesses whether federal education policy is effectively addressing them.

Yes, the United States is pivoting to Asia, one of the reasons for the tête-à-tête last week between Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. But behind the scenes, President Obama has actually been reorienting U.S. diplomacy toward Europe.

Matt Waxman argues that even if President Obama is able close Guantanamo, nothing he has done so far will prevent the creation of another detention facility.

The U.S. military can learn from West Point about how to approach sexual misconduct cases, writes Jeanne Hull.

The Supreme Court ruled on June 13, 2013, that Myriad Genetics could not patent human genes they isolated from the bloodstream, because the company "did not create anything," but that synthetic forms of the genes may be eligible for patents.

There is no evidence that signature strikes will be reduced or ended based upon anything the Obama administration has recently stated.

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In the Los Angeles Times, Max Boot argues that, rather than being a scandal, NSA intercepts are a vital tool in the global war on terror.

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.

President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in California June 7-8, 2013, to discuss cybersecurity, climate change, territorial disputes, and North Korea. After their discussions, they released an agreement to reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in California June 7-8, 2013. Based on the Montreal Protocol findings regarding ozone layer-depleting emissions, they issued this agreement to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs, to address one aspect of climate change.

The Guardian obtained a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order requiring Verizon to give the National Security Agency "information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and other countries" on an "ongoing, daily basis" from April 25 through July 19, 2013.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released a statement to address the recent "unauthorized disclosure" of a U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order. The document requires Verizon to provide the National Security Agency with detailed telephone call records of millions of U.S.-based customers on a daily basis. In response, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has declassified selected details related to the "business records" provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

This report discusses the history of constitutional interpretations and legislative responses relevant to the collection of private information for criminal investigation, foreign intelligence gathering, and national security purposes. Next, it summarizes the relevant statutory frameworks and changes made by the USA PATRIOT Act and subsequent measures

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides a statutory framework by which government agencies may, when gathering foreign intelligence information, obtain authorization to conduct wiretapping or physical searches, utilize pen registers and trap and trace devices, or access specified business records and other tangible things.

Ed Husain advises the United States to support the Turkish government in response to recent protests in Istanbul.