57 Results for:

May 22, 2024

International Criminal Court
The Role of the ICC

The International Criminal Court was created to bring justice to the world’s worst war criminals, but debate over the court still rages.

Judges are pictured in the courtroom during the trial of Bosco Ntaganda at the International Criminal Court.

April 18, 2024

Palestinian Territories
What Is Hamas?

The Palestinian militant group struggled to govern the Gaza Strip before launching a surprise attack on Israel in 2023. Now facing Israel’s military campaign to destroy it, Hamas’s future is in doubt…

Gun-toting Hamas militants ride a vehicle amid a massive crowd of the group's supporters

April 17, 2024

Iran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

Conceived as the principal defenders of the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has evolved into an institution with vast political, economic, and military power.

Members of the Revolutionary Guards attend a parliamentary session in Tehran.

May 2, 2024

United States
How U.S. Water Infrastructure Works

The sprawling U.S. water system is central to the nation’s economy, but chronic underinvestment, increasing demand, and the consequences of climate change have revealed the system’s weaknesses.  

A deep blue river flows between rust-colored mesas.

March 19, 2024

Palestinian Territories
Who Governs the Palestinians?

Power in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the so-called Palestinian territories, has been divided among three entities: a governing body called the Palestinian Authority, the militant group Hamas, a…

Palestinians wave their national flag as they rally beneath images of President Mahmoud Abbas and his predecessor, Yasser Arafat

April 3, 2024

United States
What Does the U.S. National Guard Do?

The National Guard is a special part of the U.S. military that answers to both state governors and the president. While it began as a “strategic reserve,” the guard has come to play an important role…

A member of the National Guard patrols the southern U.S. border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

February 29, 2024

United Nations
Funding the United Nations: How Much Does the U.S. Pay?

Many UN agencies, programs, and missions receive crucial funding from the United States. The Trump administration sharply reduced funding to some UN agencies, but President Biden has largely reversed…

A child peeks out from a blue and white tent managed by the UN refugee agency.

February 26, 2024

United Nations
The UN Security Council

The UN Security Council is the premier global body for maintaining international peace and security, but it faces steady calls for reform to better meet twenty-first-century challenges.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the Security Council via video amid Russia’s war.

October 14, 2023

Lebanon
What Is Hezbollah?

Military experience gained from fighting in Syria’s civil war and decades of clashes with Israel has strengthened the Iran-backed group, but politically, its clout among Lebanon’s populace may be wan…

A crowd of Hezbollah supporters surrounds a giant model of a fist holding a gun.

October 27, 2023

Iran Nuclear Agreement
What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal?

The United States’ withdrawal from the arms control agreement has heightened tensions and left the remaining signatories scrambling to keep the deal alive.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, French  The foreign ministers of China, France, Germany, the European Union, Iran, the United Kingdom, and the United States pose for a photo at the UN building in Vienna, Austria.