Politics & Policy

Military service is difficult, demanding and dangerous. But returning to civilian life also poses challenges for the men and women who have served in the armed forces.

As the newly anointed GOP frontrunner, Newt Gingrich is facing increased scrutiny about his record, policy proposals and temperament. But so far, Gingrich’s age – he will turn 69 next summer – has virtually escaped notice. This marks quite a change from the last presidential campaign, when then 72-year-old John McCain faced persistent questions about […]

A new PEJ study of the Twitter campaign conversation using computer technology reveals how the White House hopefuls fared, examines differences between the political discussions on Twitter and blogs, and updates the tone of the candidates’ news narratives.

Large majorities of people in three former Soviet republics -- Russia (82%), Lithuania (91%) and Ukraine (95%) -- believe that politicians far more than ordinary people have benefited from the changes that have taken place in their countries since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The political conversation on Twitter is markedly different than that on blogs—and both are decidedly different than the political narrative presented by the mainstream press, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism that analyzed more than 20 million tweets, the online conversation and traditional news coverage about the campaign.

Overview The public continues to support tough measures to crack down on illegal immigration, but also a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally. A plurality (43%) says the priority should be better border security and enforcement, as well as creating a way for illegal immigrants to become citizens if they meet certain […]

As the fight for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination unfolds, more Americans say their impression of the GOP field is worsening than improving. Those views, however, have not resulted in a better view of President Barack Obama at this point. By a margin of two-to-one, more say that their impression of the GOP field is […]

Two decades ago, a survey conducted by the Times Mirror Center of the Soviet Union during perestroika showed a huge divide between hardline communists and the young, urban Russians who backed Boris Yeltsin and favoured a free market economy. Last weekend’s election results show how the divide endures 20 years on. A new Pew Research […]

The experience of the former Soviet Union's struggles to make the transition to a more open society holds an important lesson for the Middle East, a region in which the democratic tide still swells despite panicked opposition from some and the efforts of others to regulate its tempo.