Since the end of the industrial age, Americans have worried about improving their education system. But the country has never been able to make much progress. Other nations do it better, and the United States must learn from their examples if it hopes to catch up.

George J. Mitchell discusses his career in government, as part of the HBO History Makers Series.

According to Ed Husain, "the answers to countering the appeal of radicalism among some Muslims in the West rests in more, not less, debating of religion, pluralist politics and integrating immigrants."

New legislation will do little good given diminishing enforcement capabilities, says Jeanne Hull.

Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz discusses how the lack of financial regulation creates market instability which results in inequality, and addresses ways to strengthen both the U.S. and international economy, to prevent further collapse.

U.S.-EU cooperation against terrorism has led to a new dynamic in U.S.-EU relations by fostering dialogue on law enforcement and homeland security issues previously reserved for bilateral discussions. Nevertheless, some challenges persist in fostering closer U.S.-EU cooperation in these fields. Among the most prominent are data privacy and data protection concerns.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade gave these remarks and answered questions after their meeting on April 19, 2013.

Shannon O'Neil reflects on the early years of her "twenty-year relationship with Mexico."

Ted Alden reflects on impending immigration reform in light of the recent Boston Marathon bombings.

After more than a decade of war and several years of a deep financial crisis, many Americans are asking whether the country should focus more of its attention—and more of its resources—at home. That said, the impulse to lead is still strong in both political parties and most polls show that Americans still feel both a moral and strategic imperative to remain fully engaged in the world.

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Linda Robinson discusses her recently released Council Special Report, The Future of U.S. Special Operations Forces, which calls for conceptual, institutional, and operational changes to reorient U.S. special operations forces to ensure that they are employed to best effect.

Immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship would have sweeping effects on the lives of the estimated eight million undocumented Hispanics living within the United States. But it would not have an acute, immediate effect on U.S. politics.

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In the final Bloomberg View excerpt of his forthcoming book The Power Surge, Michael Levi explores the future of hybrid and electric vehicles.

In light of the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon, Max Boot writes, "Keep calm and carry on."

Michèle Flournoy discusses U.S. defense policy and strategy as well as broader international security challenges.

The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications and Technology passed the Internet Governance Bill on April 17, 2013, which reinforces the "policy of the United States to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet." The bill will go on for a vote in the House.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon reflects on the terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon.

According to Michael Levi in this serial of The Power Surge, decreasing demand "is the only real path to confronting the climate consequences of abundant oil."

American policymakers have long been concerned about the eroding U.S. advantage in educating science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students. With much of the assembly work for lucrative high-technology products having moved to Asia, future U.S. prosperity depends increasingly on innovating new products and techniques—innovation that requires training (or importing) a new generation of scientists and engineers.

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The deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon raise anew the vulnerability of U.S. civilian targets and homeland security policy dilemmas, as examined in this CFR Issue Guide.