Weekly Focus articles are the centerpiece of our analysis. Focusing on a particular topic in politics or public policy, these articles place issues in a historical context, analyzing effects and consequences through to the present day. These articles feature additional source to allow for greater investigation by interested readers.
Chicago police ready to respond on May Day, 2012. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Israeli political party banners in advance of the January 2013 election. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Aaron Swartz speaking at an anti-SOPA rally in January 2012. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Following his re-election last November, President Obama has begun to detail his second term priorities and the team of secretaries and other cabinet-level officials who will help him pursue these policies, While a number of Cabinet members have signed on for another term, including those overseeing the Departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, some of the most high profile positions regarding both domestic and foreign policy need to be filled.
A mail in ballot. Creative Commons image courtesy of hjl.
Change at the State Level
Doha Skyline. Creative Commons photo by Martin Belam.
Qatar: Rise of an Underdog
Creative Commons photo by L. Allen Brewer.
October 17, 2026
2010's “Chinese Professor” advert showed some Chinese, in a future where it outsmarted the United States, glowing with mirth. Two years have passed and the reality could not be more different. As both major American political parties try to outdo one another on sanctioning China, the Chinese have growing fears that the US will use its available tools to crush a deserved competitor.
Taken on August 21, 2011, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Creative Commons photo by abiodork.
