Bruce Stokes

Australians go to the polls to choose a new government this week. Recent surveys show that public satisfaction with the economic direction of the country is falling.

The UN Security Council failed Wednesday to reach agreement on a British-sponsored resolution authorizing approval of taking action against Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons. A 2011 Pew Research poll found publics in most countries surveyed did not support the principle of obtaining UN approval first.

While the U.S. and several of its allies in NATO review options for military action against Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons, such action is reportedly not likely to be under the umbrella of NATO. Support for NATO in member countries has waned.

Even before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was accused of using chemical weapons, he was widely unpopular with publics in neighboring countries.

New OECD composite leading economic indicators suggest that Chinese and Brazilians face disappointment with their economies in the months ahead, while many Europeans, Japanese and Americans may be pleasantly surprised.

A global Pew Research Center survey finds a large gender gap in attitudes about U.S. government use of drones to target terrorists.

Elections in Japan on July 21 to choose half of the members of the the upper house of Japan’s Diet may be a referendum on changing constitutional limits on the country's military posture.

When the leaders of the G8 countries gather June 17 and 18 in Northern Ireland for their annual tête-à-tête, their economic dialogue will largely be a tale of woe: poor economic performance that has severely eroded public economic confidence in most of their countries. But individual leaders face contrasting challenges. There are growing public expectations, especially […]

Continued high unemployment in Europe is fueling the debate over whether it is now time to stimulate the economy to spur job creation or to continue fiscal retrenchment to cut public debt.