Elizabeth C. Economy says corruption and the failure to develop rule of law in China now define much of the country's political and economic life. With Xi Jinping poised to take over, the focus should be on significant political reform.

Joshua Kurlantzick asseses the current limitations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and prescribes recommmendations for both the United States and ASEAN that will enable ASEAN to firmly establish itself as the essential regional organization in Asia.

Secretary of State Clinton, Defense Secretary Panetta, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, and Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith met in Perth, Australia and released this joint communiqu on November 14, 2012.

Peter Orszag explains how the transition of Chinese workers from farms to factories has a large role to play in determining the growth rate of the Chinese economy.

While congressional action lags, a series of year-end fiscal measures could derail the U.S. recovery. This Backgrounder examines the potential global impact.

CFR's Ed Husain discusses the significance of a newly formed coalition of Syrian opposition groups and whether a real political settlement can be achieved anytime soon.

American diplomacy has changed dramatically in the past few decades, and has taken on a more conflict-prone direction, according to this New York Times piece.

Osama Suleiman, a Syrian immigrant to Britain and head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has taken on the task of counting the death toll in Syria through hours of videos shot by activists and journalists in the country.

Sebastian Mallaby argues that the European Central Bank should embrace a weighted-vote governance structure in its plans for a new bank supervisory board.

In his upcoming term President Barack Obama will have to adopt a softer stance on many issues in the Middle East to avoid conflict that could have large domestic implications.

With the fiscal cliff looming and our current fiscal trajectory unsustainable, "We should let the Bush high-end tax cuts expire, with an achievable, progressive reduction in tax expenditures. And we should have spending cuts, including entitlement reforms, equally matched by revenue increases," says Robert E. Rubin.