Ideas and Issues

An examination of the news and issues, politics, policies, and laws that matter to us all.

  • IMF members pose for a photograph April 22, 2017 at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC.
    The International Monetary Fund
  • A doctor working with 'Doctors Without Borders' at a hospital in Sri Lanka.
    What Are Non-State Actors?
  • A picture of a book with sovereign immunity written on the front cover together with a gavel and block and a pair of glasses.
    What Is Sovereign Immunity? Definition and Examples
  • A referee hands out a red card to a soccer player
    What Is Retributive Justice?
  • Small group standing out from the majority.
    What Is Majoritarianism? Definition and Examples
  • Rotary Club member administers the oral polio vaccine to children from a slum in Dhaka April 23, 2000, during the Polio National Immunization Day in Bangladesh.
    Civil Society: Definition and Theory
  • The Dictionary definition of the word “reparation.”
    What Is Restorative Justice?
  • Illustration of the four "pillars" of procedural justice, depicted as literal pillars
    What Is Procedural Justice?
  • People reaching for equal slices of cake.
    What Is Distributive Justice?
  • Male nurse and women giving support to a senior man in doing walking exercise with walker during rehabilitation.
    What Is Social Insurance? Definition and Examples
  • Flag for the Scottish National Party, a regionalist and Scottish nationalist party, alongside the Scottish flag
    Regionalism: Definition and Examples
  • U.S. troops tighten control of Iraq border with Iran.
    What Is Interventionism? Definition and Examples
  • Demonstrators from the Sierra Club, Workers For Progress, Our Revolution, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network picket in front of the office of US Senator Shelley Moore Capitol.
    What Is Hyperpluralism? Definition and Examples
  • Military mission at twilight.
    National Security Definition and Examples
  • Large group of people forming The United States of America.
    What Is Political Participation? Definition and Examples
  • Social networking and public opinion.
    Public Opinion Definition and Examples
  • Inuit mother and daughter on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, in traditional dress out on the tundra.
    Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
  • Demonstrators from the Sierra Club, Workers For Progress, Our Revolution, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network picket in front of the office of US Senator Shelley Moore Capito.
    What Are Interest Groups? Definition and Examples
  • The United States Constitution, the basis of federalism
    Types of Federalism: Definition and Examples
  • Declaration of Independence
    What Are Individual Rights? Definition and Examples
  • Old to new: Residential building facades before and after renovation.
    Gentrification: Why is it a Problem?
  • A group of elementary students saying the Pledge of Allegiance
    What Is Political Socialization? Definition and Examples
  • World map showing the British Empire in 1902. British possessions colored red.
    What Is Colonialism? Definition and Examples
  • A painting of a ballroom filled with men in dress uniforms and women in ballgowns
    What Is Aristocracy? Definition and Examples
  • First meeting of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
    What Is an Absolute Monarchy? Definition and Examples
  • A crowd of people holding signs that read "Democracy Is Not For Sale"
    What Is Plutocracy? Definition and Examples
  • Occupy Wall Street effectively shuts down the main strip of the New York financial district.
    What Is Anarchy? Definition and Examples
  • Corrupt Legislation: painting by Elihu Vedder, circa 1896
    What Is Kleptocracy? Definition and Examples
  • Military Dictator of Chile General Augusto Pinochet stands at attention.
    What Is a Military Dictatorship? Definition and Examples
  • The essence of democracy.
    What Is Democracy? Definition and Examples
  • Illustration of totalitarianism’s control of the press.
    What Is Totalitarianism? Definition and Examples
  • The entry of the colors, or Swastikas at the German National Socialist Party Day at Nuremberg, 1933
    What Is Autocracy? Definition and Examples
  • A map of the United States, showing the distinctions and boundaries between pro- and anti-enslavement states as well as the territories of the Union, 1857.
    What Is Sectionalism? Definition and Examples
  • Syrian refugees from the town of Kobani walk besides their tents near Suruc on the Turkish-Syrian border, 2014 Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images
    What Is a Failed State? Definition and Examples
  • ILLEGAL GOLD MINE using mercury in the PHILIPPINES
    Mercury Usage in Gold Mining and Why It Is a Problem
  • The banner reads "No to militarism and oligarchy"
    What Is an Oligarchy? Definition and Examples
  • GREECE-MIDDLE EAST-RELIGION-CONFLICT-CONFERENCE
    What Is Pluralism? Definition and Examples
  • leaflet in German
    An Introduction to Psychological Warfare
  • A typical US courtroom as viewed from behind the witness stand.
    The Difference Between Procedural Law and Substantive Law
  • colorful math fractions and apples
    Why Learning Fractions Is Important
  • Four American flags flying with the Capitol building in the background
    What Is Nationalism? Definition and Examples
  • Forensic criminologist in protective suit taking photos on a crime scene.
    Criminology Definition and History
  • NYPD Cadets Attend Their Graduation
    The History of Modern Policing
  • A steaming cup of coffee
    An Introduction to Sensory Marketing
  • Cuban diplomats being expelled from their embassy in Washington, D.C.
    How Far Does Diplomatic Immunity Go?
  • internet cafe
    Understanding America's Digital Divide
  • How Much Homework Should Students Have?
  • Waste Management Phoenix Open - Round Two
    Why Is Recycling Not Mandatory in All U.S. Cities?
  • Annual Fashion's Night Out Kicks Off New York's Fashion Week
    Littering Is Everyone's Problem
  • Extreme close-up of bee on sunflower Extreme close-up of two bee / honeybee (Apis mellifera) insects collecting pollen of a sunflower
    Why Are Honeybees Disappearing?
  • Aspen trees changing colors in the fall, ground-level view looking up.
    Which Trees Best Offset Global Warming?
  • woman under leaf in rain
    Tropical Rainforests Are Nature's Medicine Cabinet
  • 54th Itabashi fireworks
    Declare Your Independence From Toxic Fireworks Pollution
  • White clover (Trifolium) spreading through a grass avenue.
    Low Maintenance Alternatives to Grass
  • Farmer checks his feed corn crop being harvested for biofuel
    The Pros and Cons of Biofuels
  • Motor oil change
    Is Synthetic Motor Oil Better for the Environment?
  • Solar water heater
    Solar Water Heaters: What Are the Benefits?
  • Full frame image of the tops of batteries
    Should Batteries Be Tossed or Recycled?
  • Overhead view of empty plastic bottles
    The Dangers of Reusing Plastic Bottles
  • United Nations' World Water Day Is Marked In San Francisco
    Recycling Different Plastics
  • Green plastic lids close up.
    Recycling Plastic Lids and Bottle Caps
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