Embattled on all fronts, Iran’s rulers now look to be shifting their tactics.  The recent visit of UN arms inspectors to Iran went more smoothly than expected, with the head of the mission reporting a “good visit” and announcing plans to return.It would be nice if this was a sign that Iran has decided to […]

Two stories this morning should remind us that the terror threat is still, unfortunately, very real.In London, nine British citizens have pleaded guilty to terror-related charges connected to a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange.  And in Pakistan a university professor sent a package of anthrax to the prime minister’s office.The London plot was […]

As the absurd theater of the Republican primaries continues its itinerary from state to state, it at least serves one useful purpose: It puts to rest the notion that religion no longer matters in American politics. Actually the GOP is now dominated by two varieties of fundamentalism—the religious one, focused single-mindedly on matters south of […]

Putin's return means more of the dismal same for everyone.

The main threats to democracy lie within liberal societies themselves.

Some mythbusting about U.S. policy towards Russia.

Europe's crisis was set in motion by five revolutions in human affairs.

Francis Fukuyama talks with the renowned entrepreneur.

Yesterday we noted demographer Nicholas Eberstadt’s horrifying research into the fate of unborn girls around the world; India was one of the countries where women bearing unborn female children are either persuaded or forced to abort.From the Times of India comes word that the girls who make it out of the womb aren’t out of […]

I’m beginning a new project at Stanford/CDDRL called “The Governance Project.” The intention is to focus on conceptualizing and measuring governance, and applying those measures to two specific countries, China and the United States.The beginning point of the project is definition of governance that excludes the degree to which governments are either democratic or subject […]