Hobbled by foreign interventions, political instability, and natural disasters, the former French colony is paralyzed by multiple crises.

Modern vice presidents can trace much of their political influence to the broad reforms that Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale made to the second-highest elected office in the late 1970s.

Ukraine’s Westward drift since independence has been countered by the sometimes violent tug of Russia, felt most recently with Putin’s 2022 invasion.

The threat of climate change and the rise of China have prompted renewed debate about the U.S. government’s role in shaping the economy.