Political Issues

The donkey and the elephant are widely recognized symbols of the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties. But what do animals have to do with politics, and how do cartoons fit in?

By Sam Abramson

Hitler, Kim Jong-Il, Saddam Hussein: Dictators come hand-in-hand with violence and controversy. But what makes a dictator different from any other leader?

By Shanna Freeman

Communism is a type of government that relies on the collectivization of labor and goods to equal out the classes. How did communism become the dominant form of government in several large countries?

By Alia Hoyt

The Green Party wants to break up American politics' two-party system. But will their beliefs in environmental and social responsibility ever convert U.S. voters?

By Robert Lamb

Every four years, the state of Iowa becomes a political hotbed when it hosts its caucuses. Each state has its own nominating contests, so why does Iowa mean so much to the candidates and the media?

By Sarah Gleim

It's common knowledge that if the president of the United States dies or is removed from office, the vice president takes over. But what happens if the V.P. is unavailable?

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

Politicians have given the world plenty to talk about over the years. On this list of 10 political scandals, from Watergate to the Profumo Affair, which had the most extreme consequences?

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd. & John Kelly

Your presidential candidate has a MySpace page. Learn how campaign communications technology has changed the way races are run and won.

By Dave Roos

A virtual border fence uses a complex network of cameras and radar to detect illegal border crossers. Find out how a virtual border fence system works.

By Jacob Silverman

The Darfur region of Sudan has been in a state of crisis since 2003. Whether what's going on in the African province qualifies as genocide is a point of international debate.

By Julia Layton

Experts say the U.S. government is designed so a coup d'état would be highly unlikely ever to occur. But deep political polarization can precipitate one, so does that mean a coup is marginally more possible?

By Joanna Thompson

In an interview, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reportedly answered a question about flooded vehicles with the statement, "You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later. So let's be fair." Learn why, or whether, the WTC memorial project is behind schedule.

The idea of a "war crime" seems to be pretty redundant, but there are countless treaties that declare otherwise. Learn about the basic rules of war and about specific acts that have been designated as war crimes by the Hague and Geneva Conventions.

By Julia Layton

Even in the digital age, newspapers continue, although they've had to change dramatically to survive. We'll look at all aspects of putting a newspaper together as well as unusual strategies newspapers are using to bring in revenue.

By Julia Layton & Bob Wilson