Melanne Verveer, 12/10/12

Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. State Department

As we commemorate International Human Rights Day today, I can't help but recall the moment 17 years ago when then-First Lady Hillary Clinton proclaimed, "Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."

William K. Black, 12/09/12

Assoc. Professor, Univ. of Missouri, Kansas City; Sr. regulator during S&L debacle

The New York Times' slant in describing Monti as a "technocrat" and Correa as a "left-leaning economist" is typical of the dominant media. Monti and Correa both have doctorates in economics from U.S. universities and both have been professors of economics. Why does the New York Times treat Monti reverentially and Correa dismissively?

Brian Levin, 12/10/12

Deconstructing politics, policy and current events

History shows that in the delicate arena of foreign policy, actions often have unintended, if not devastating, consequences. It is for this reason that I fear that Israel's response to the Palestinian Authority's successful bid for non-member observer state status at the U.N. does not serve its long-term interests.

Patrick Faust and Matthew McGregor, 12/10/12

Winning international campaigns will study Obama's precedent-setting victory -- and won't just copy his tactics, but rather use his fundamentals to build a strategy tailored to their race and technologies.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, 12/09/12

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

Expectations of a relaxing Sunday in front of the television watching football gave way to frustration and disappointment. In the process, I gained insights on the challenges facing G-20 officials when it comes to managing the global economy.

Robert Naiman, 12/10/12

Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy

If more Americans could get unplugged from the myths which have been used historically to engineer public acquiescence in U.S. foreign policy, how much could that help us reform U.S. foreign policy in the future?

Thor Halvorssen, 12/10/12

Founder, Human Rights Foundation

Three Decembers ago, Mr. Liu, a university professor, was tried and sentenced to 11 years in a Chinese prison. His crime: he authored and promoted Charter 08, a manifesto that appeals for freedom of expression, democratic elections, and human rights in China.

Otaviano Canuto, 12/10/12

Vice President, Poverty Reduction, World Bank

The way taxes are collected, budgets and policies are set up, and public employees are managed and behave affect the results that governments can achieve. Why then is reforming public sector management so hard to obtain, since benefits are so obvious?

Iain Murray, 12/10/12

Vice President for Strategy, Competitive Enterprise Institute

There's a buzz in both Berlin and D.C. these days for free trade as a potential path back to growth for ailing economies. Indeed, a Transatlantic Free Trade area would be a very good idea -- but a highly regulated trade area would not deliver the benefits promised.

Caroline Gluck, 12/10/12

Field-based press officer for Oxfam humanitarian team, former BBC correspondent

"Everything that we worked to build up has been destroyed. If the village captain hadn't gathered everyone together during the typhoon, we probably wouldn't be here right now. Our homes have almost all been destroyed or washed away, except for a very few."

Mohamed Elmenshawy, 12/10/12

Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC

Will the Muslim Brotherhood adopt the same tactics Hosni Mubarak used for three decades to sustain absolute power, in this case hiding their intentions behind the pretext that "free elections equal full democracy"?

Anav Silverman, 12/10/12

International Correspondent in Jerusalem

A cosmetic company in Gaza has launched a new perfume named M-75, after the new long-range missile designed by Hamas with Iranian assistance.

Lex Paulson, 12/10/12

Fmr. Capitol Hill staffer; Ph.D. candidate in classics, Université de Paris-Sorbonne

Should the Obama administration rally to the cause of poetic freedom? Should our diplomats put the screws on the emirate of Qatar, our ally in Libya, purveyor of our petroleum, friendly host of UN climate negotiations and the 2022 World Cup?

Milad Jokar, 12/10/12

Political Analyst

The United States and the European governments have vehemently repeated that Bashar al Assad must step down. Can his departure stabilize Syria and stop the bloodshed?

H.A. Hellyer, 12/10/12

Nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution

The Muslim Brotherhood leadership is convinced that there are huge forces within Egypt that wishes to wipe it out. Yet, with the actions of the past couple of weeks, the MB has managed to increase the popularity of such sentiment.

Shannon K. O'Neil, 12/10/12

Senior fellow for Latin America studies, CFR; Author, 'Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States, and the Road Ahead'

Building on the lessons of the past five years, the United States should work with Mexico to implement the nonmilitary programs envisioned in the current Merida framework.

Matt Zeller, 12/09/12

Adjunct Fellow at the American Security Project; Fellow at the Truman Project for National Security; Author, 'Watches Without Time'

Literacy is not only the path to social mobility in Afghanistan and numerous other countries, it is also the only truly effective long term weapon we have against ilk like the Taliban and al Qaeda.