This month’s vote will be the first conducted while Russia is involved in a major war, and Vladimir Putin is counting on a strong show of national unity and highlighting support in occupied Ukraine.

The time is ripe for President Obama to press for Senate passage of the Law of the Sea Convention and expand U.S. influence on oceans governance, write Scott Borgerson and Thomas Pickering.

Events in Egypt highlight the need for the U.S. government to drop double standards on governance and human rights issues when dealing with friendly dictatorships, writes CFR’s Mark Lagon.

The popularity of e-cigarettes presents an enormous opportunity for public health, which the United States is at risk of squandering by regulating these products as tobacco, writes CFR’s Thomas Bolly…

In this Markets and Democracy Brief, CFR’s Mark Lagon argues for a more consistent approach to human rights promotion than the United States has often pursued in the past.