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The main pro & con arguments on controversial issues, to help you decide how to vote on our polls.

July 11, 2008 | Does the World Need a 'League of Democracies'?

Uncertainty in an emerging "new world order" has brought with it new approaches to the provision of multilateral responses. One concept gaining attention in the US is a ‘league of democracies', an institutionalized body of nations with a ...More

April 30, 2008 | Sarkozy l' Américain?

The election of Nicolas Sarkozy was a source of hope for the future of Franco-American and transatlantic relations. Sarkozy made no secret of his intention to kick start a new era of French foreign policy and effect a radical break away from a forty year old Gaullist ...More

February 20, 2008 | Putinism: Good or Bad for the West?

With the world’s attention now focusing on the unpredictable outcome of the American elections, it is easy to forget about their more predictable, but equally important equivalent in Russia. Recently named Time's "Person of the Year," President Vladimir ...More

January 15, 2008 | Should the Polluter Pay?

One of the policy recommendations of the Shadow G-8 was to establish the framework for a more equitable system of dealing with climate change. Among the aspects of this suggested framework was the incorporation of the so-called polluter pays principle: that those countries ...More

October 23, 2007 | Should the U.S. Attack Iran?

"Given the nature of Iran's rulers, the declarations of the Iranian President, and the trouble the regime is causing throughout the region...our country and the entire international community cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its most aggressive ...More

September 11, 2007 | Are Conditions Improving In Iraq?

Have conditions in Iraq improved since troop numbers went up? We look at two different viewpoints on this issue, one from embedded journalists on an eight-day stay, the other from members of the 82nd Airborne Division, the key actors in the surge.

*But first, …More

August 9, 2007 | Can Saudi Arabia Be Trusted?

In July, the US Department of State announced a new arms deal for the Middle East that included $20 billion for the Saudis, ostensibly to promote stability in the region. Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who rarely travel together, made a joint ...More

June 22, 2007 | Hamas: Negotiate or Isolate?

In the face of Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza, the transatlantic community must reassess its conflict management. The Western reaction to this situation will be an important battle in the “war of ideas” that has been going on since the electoral victory of …More

May 23, 2007 | Iran Deadline Expires Today: What Next?

Inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency conducted surprise inspections in Tehran on May 13, finding 1,300 centrifuges enriching uranium and running smoothly. Together with recent aggressions toward Western nations such as the hostage-taking …More

May 21, 2007 | Pro & Con: Climate Change

The Bush government still refuses to commit the United States to the multilateral climate change regime set up under the Kyoto Protocol. Although transatlantic action on climate change was discussed at the recent “(external)US-EU …More