The upcoming G8 and G20 conferences mark a shift to a "multipolar age," particularly if the G20 is able to agree on a continuing path to a stable global recovery, says CFR’s Stewart Patrick.

In a major electoral comeback, Japan’s conservatives have won a supermajority in parliament. But the results have stirred anxieties about how they will use their power, says CFR’s Sheila Smith.

CFR Senior Fellow Michael Levi writes that the financial crisis will affect U.S. near-term efforts to deal with energy security and climate change.

Syria’s Ba’athist regime has responded to widening pro-reform protests by tightening its crackdown, but this approach is unlikely to quiet restive Syrians like it has in the past, writes CFR’s Mohama…

CFR’s Edward Alden says U.S. response to recent air-security failures should be to improve existing measures that identify genuine threats instead of imposing "knee-jerk initiatives that look tough" …