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.

This publication is now archived. The current crisisThe war in Iraq is the United States’ first sustained conflict since the military shifted to an all-volunteer force in 1973. As the casualty count …

This publication is now archived. What is the post-election security situation in Afghanistan?It is still generally unstable, experts say, despite a successful September 18 parliamentary poll, Afghan…

International actors are redoubling efforts to restore Afghanistan’s agriculture sector and weaken the massive opium trade that helps fund the Taliban. But competing strategies and corruption could s…

U.S. foreign policy is largely directed by presidents, but Congress does have considerable influence, as this CFR Backgrounder explains.