The late Margaret Thatcher played a major role in global affairs, including in one of the defining events of modern international law. In 1998, Baltasar Garzón, a Spanish judge, demanded the extradition of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet from the United Kingdom, where he had traveled to receive medical treatment....

Any other Western country with as much tragic gun violence as America would most likely have repealed the Second Amendment long ago if it had it in its constitution. However, for reasons related to American exceptionalism, the right to bear arms is considered sacrosanct by numerous Americans. Support for unbridled...

Barack Obama's supporters understandably feel uplifted by his reelection. Chants of "Four more years" have been matched by the hope that Obama will finally be able to complete his agenda during his second term. In reality, the public reelected Obama without giving him the clear means to do so. The...

The rhetoric of the Obama and Romney presidential campaigns has recently become harsher. Both sides have additionally issued highly misleading TV advertisements. The media have devoted significant attention to these controversies while sometimes failing to address underlying policy differences. Financial and health care reform notably deserve closer attention...

Justice Antonin Scalia's dissent in the recent Supreme Court decision to strike provisions of Arizona's strict immigration law has drawn significant attention. "To say, as the Court does, that Arizona contradicts federal law by enforcing immigration law that the president declines to enforce boggles the mind,"...

Barack Obama's decision to support gay marriage has led to a debate about how it may influence the presidential election and the future of gay marriage in the United States. But the underlying reasons why gay marriage is so controversial in America are being overlooked. While there is generally no...

In both Europe and America, the rise of "extremist" politicians has become a matter of recurrent concern. France's recent presidential election was marked by the relative success of candidates on both the extreme-right and extreme-left, which reflects a broader trend in Europe. In the United States, Democrats often...

Two major objects of attention during this election season reflect a key dimension of American exceptionalism: religion. First, America may soon have a president of Mormon faith, Mitt Romney, who served as a Mormon missionary and bishop before becoming a politician. Second, Rick Santorum, the runner-up in the...