At the NATO summit in Chicago, the much hoped-for deal between the United States and Pakistan to reopen NATO supply routes through Pakistan did not materialize. The experience of the closure and the negotiations has laid bare the changed relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.

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

The recent British elections may offer lessons for American political parties, as Democrats could learn from Labour and Republicans from the Conservatives.

British voters are angry at all three major parties, and even the Conservatives that are currently leading have not aroused enthusiasm and hope in the electorate.

The tea party movement opposes the culture of dependence inherent in many of the president's policies, recognizing the long term societal implications of those policies.

What is striking about British politics is the infrequency of changes in government from one party to another. This is less true in the United States. Why the difference?

The United States does not have a parliamentary system, and it is both dysfunctional and tragic to see so many try to force the parliamentary square peg into the American constitutional round hole.