The U.S. patent system has generated growing debate over whether it helps foster innovation or stifles it through unnecessary protections, as this Backgrounder explains.

House Speaker Boehner gave this press conference in response to President Obama's remarks on fiscal cliff, December 19, 2012.

In the context of the holiday season, Julia E. Sweig assesses President Obama's response to the Newtown shootings.

President Obama gave this press conference at the White House on December 19, 2012.

Micah Zenko says, "Similar to everyday choices like which brand of cereal to buy, how senior military officials present and characterize military options strongly influences policymakers' decisions."

The discussion outlines a new U.S. grand strategy focused on reinvigorating solidarity between the United States and established democracies in defense of a world based on liberal principles and the rule of law.

"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.

John B. Bellinger III says, "Over the last 230 years, the Senate has approved more than 1,500 treaties. In 2013, Mr. Obama must demonstrate leadership by putting greater effort in securing Senate approval of essential treaties that advance American interests, including the Law of the Sea Convention."

Shanker A. Singham, chairman of the International Roundtable on Trade and Competition Policy, leads a conversation on how government-imposed anticompetitive market distortions harm U.S. exports and state and local economies.

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."

Richard A. Falkenrath says Showtime's blockbuster series Homeland is great television, but not a useful guide to real-world homeland security. Hint: we always tap the suspect's cell phone.

What's the difference between debt and deficit? What does the "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, mean for deficit reduction? Research Links on Debt and Deficits provides news, research, data, and proposed solutions on debt and deficit in the United States (local and federal) and international comparisons.

CFR's Peter Orszag highlights the potential opportunities and limitations of a fiscal cliff deal.

Americans want to see Congress and the president make a deal on the "fiscal cliff," but the incentives are strongest for policymakers to act only after the cliff has come and gone—and wreaked a great deal of havoc in the process, says Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

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.

Frank G. Klotz observes that the United States and Russia have been at loggerheads lately. Thus, a recent bit of bilateral cooperation in Antarctica comes as welcome news.