The American and British efforts in Afghanistan face a defining period, but each nation's leadership has misdefined the objective as nation building, which should instead be destroying the Taliban.

The April issue of AEI’s Political Report covers polls on the presidential contest, environmental and energy issues, and world affairs.

...

The challenge of transforming Iraq"s military establishment is inextricably linked to the larger task of transforming the country"s governance.

If ever we need evidence of ideology run rampant, the House vote to eliminate the annual American Community Survey and the Economic Census to provide basic information on the state of businesses and industries in the country and data used for generating quarterly gross domestic product estimates is exhibit A.

For many superstitious Afghans, it's no coincidence that the coming of democracy coincides with the end of the drought; it's proof, despite winter's bitter hardships, of a better future.

In this Bradley Lecture, Francis Fukuyama will discuss how understanding the difficulties societies have had with the institution-building process can give us a greater appreciation for the problems of today's weak states.

AEI public opinion expert Karlyn Bowman and researcher Andrew Rugg present their newest study on public attitudes towards energy policy and environmental issues, including key findings on Keystone XL and global warming.

From Bosnia to Iraq, the challenge of rebuilding collapsed and war-torn societies has emerged as one of the defining features of the post-Cold War world. Once perceived as errands of mercy, exercises in "nation-building" have since moved to the center of international security concerns. The United States and the United...