Ask Americans what they think the First Amendment protects, and they will tell you “freedom of speech.”  But few will think of the amendment’s third protection: “freedom of assembly.” In his provocative new book, “Liberty’s Refuge, The Forgotten Freedom of Assembly,” Washington University School of Law professor John Inazu implores Americans to keep in mind the importance of this protection.

It irritates members of both groups when I note the similarities of the Tea Party movement that swept the nation in the 2010 election and the peace movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. But they are similar.

What does the rapid rise of the tea party movement mean for civic life?

When Vladimir Putin returns to the Russian presidency on Monday, May 7, the pageantry surrounding his inauguration will aim to portray a picture of unassailable strength, a confident master of his domain invulnerable to pressures from within or without. But things are not quite as stable...

We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.

If Occupy Wall Street is a sincere, organic, grassroots movement for radical change and overturning the status quo, it can't be 100 percent behind the guy who's been running the country for the last three years.

Most observers agree that the Hazare movement has awakened the traditionally inward-looking Indian middle class to a public cause. Now the newly awakened need to go a step further and start voting, running for office, and backing candidates who embody their values.