Politics & Policy

Popularity is no protection against budget cuts: The parts of government that Americans like the most — state, cities and counties, and the U.S. Postal Service — are also the ones shedding workers the fastest. The most recent nonfarm payroll figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the public sector continues to be a drag on […]

Overview The European Union is the new sick man of Europe. The effort over the past half century to create a more united Europe is now the principal casualty of the euro crisis. The European project now stands in disrepute across much of Europe. Support for European economic integration – the 1957 raison d’etre for […]

Overview The public paid limited attention to last week’s congressional hearings on Benghazi. Fewer than half (44%) of Americans say they are following the hearings very or fairly closely, virtually unchanged from late January when Hillary Clinton testified. Last October, 61% said they were following the early stages of the investigation at least fairly closely. […]

A political, economic and demographic divide has opened up between France and Germany. The two countries, which have for decades been the driving force behind European integration, increasingly see the world through different lenses. This new evidence of a dramatic divergence of public opinion raises new questions about prospects for the European Project.

As the country prepares for this weekend’s elections, the Taliban has significantly stepped up its attacks. And no matter which party emerges victorious from the May 11 poll, it will have to answer to a public that is increasingly worried about the threat extremism poses to the Pakistani state.

The report on the racial and ethnic breakdown of voters in 2012 released Wednesday by the Census Bureau attracted lots of well-deserved attention. But for readers of political tea-leaves, a report the bureau issued last December tells an even more compelling story. That report projected the racial and ethnic makeup of the U.S. population through […]

Pakistanis will go to the polls Saturday in parliamentary elections that mark the first democratic transition from one elected civilian government to another in their country’s 66-year history. But support for democracy is thin in Pakistan, according to a Pew Research Center survey of Muslims around the world. By a nearly two-to-one margin (56% to […]

Survey Report Israelis and Palestinians differ widely in their outlook for a peaceful resolution of their longstanding conflict and in their views about the United States. But both want U.S. President Barack Obama to play a larger role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate. Israelis, on balance, believe a way can be found for an independent […]

Overview Americans overwhelmingly say the nation’s immigration policy is in need of sweeping changes. Overall, 75% say immigration policy needs at least major changes, with 35% saying it needs to be “completely rebuilt”—among the highest of seven policy areas tested. Yet the broad public agreement that immigration policy should be revamped is not matched by […]