August 29, 2017
North KoreaAttempts by the United States and Japan to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles headed toward Guam could fail and undermine the credibility of missile defense.
September 22, 2016
United StatesModern 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.
October 5, 2016
Sub-Saharan AfricaA leading killer among diseases is now targeted for eradication by the middle of this century. Efforts to combat malaria are costly and challenging.
November 19, 2012
EuropeThe eurozone crisis has consequences far beyond the continent’s economic performance, such as the EU’s ability to forge coherent defense and foreign policy.
July 11, 2012
Financial MarketsControversies over too-big-to-fail financial institutions continue to mount. The Basel Accords represent the latest effort to ease risk and restore confidence, as this Backgrounder explains.
March 10, 2010
IraqThis publication is now archived. Senior advisers from the U.S.-led coalition will head Iraqi ministries until an interim government is put into place. Three Iraqi ministries have not been re-establi…
September 16, 2008
Political History and TheoryU.S. political conventions offer the parties a place to unite around presidential candidates and a vision for foreign and domestic policy.
June 10, 2008
United StatesClose Republican and Democratic presidential nominating contests are focusing attention on the role of delegates, who ultimately will be choosing their party’s nominees.
September 26, 2006
Rule of LawPrimeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a Brazilian prison gang, staged a series of attacks in May that paralyzed the city of Sao Paulo. Subsequent waves of violence have raised concerns about the organiz…
April 10, 2007
AsiaExperts say the United States, overstretched militarily and diplomatically in the Middle East, needs to refocus its Asia-Pacific strategy to reverse a slide in its influence over the region.