Topic: Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

Herman Cain's other problem: African-Americans

Though his campaign caught fire for a time, many black voters did not embrace Herman Cain because he rejects institutional racism as a major issue. But his candidacy has exposed rifts in the black community.

Everything you need to know about Perry's flat tax

A flat tax would be much more regressive than the current income tax. As a result, poor people will pay a larger share of their income than they do at present.

Will striking Tacoma teachers be ordered back to work?

At issue in Tacoma: class sizes, potential salary cuts, and – most important to some – the district’s desire to transfer teachers between schools based on criteria other than seniority.

Response to 'credible threat' shows how much has changed since 9/11

Al Qaeda may have been degraded since 2001. But the threat since 9/11 has become more complicated, decentralized and elusive with franchises, affiliates, and homegrown terrorists.

Back to school: Are we leaving gifted students behind?

Gifted students in US public schools can be overlooked and unappreciated. Parents, looking for better options, have begun to find some.

Can the US compete if only 32 percent of its students are proficient in math?

Among the top-scoring places in the world that participated in a recent exam, math proficiency of 15-year-olds was well above 50 percent. One US state, Massachusetts, cleared that mark, barely.

Cultural values, not dictators like Libya's Qaddafi, are chief obstacle to Arab progress

If Arabs want significantly greater freedom and economic development, they and their leaders must be fully committed to making it so.

Drive for education reform has teachers unions on the defensive

Even supporters of teachers unions have been critical of them in recent months, forcing unions to collaborate with school districts on education reform as never before.

Ideas for a better world in 2011

To start the new year off right, the Monitor asked various thinkers around the world for one idea each to make the world a better place in 2011. We talked to poets and political figures, physicists and financiers. The results range from how to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world to ways to revamp Hollywood.

Hillary Clinton to continue push for START vote

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced she will press for a vote on the START nuclear arms treaty, despite opposition from Sen. John Kyl, a key Republican legislator.

START treaty: Mullen delivers tough speech on nuclear weapons agreement

In a speech, Adm. Mike Mullen reiterated his support for the 'New START' agreement with Russia. Senior US military officials fear the nuclear weapons agreement is faltering in Congress.

Obama must not let Taliban rule over Afghan women again

Even as Washington prepares to begin withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan next summer, it must not abandon newly-emancipated Afghan women to the Taliban brutality that would reassert itself in our wake.

Education secretary Arne Duncan: headmaster of US school reform

As students head back to school, educators nationwide are implementing controversial school reform wrought by Arne Duncan. Pushing competitive market approaches and armed with unprecedented funding and support from the president, he is possibly the most powerful education secretary ever.

Muslim women find an ally for more rights: the Koran

Courageous figures like Indonesia's Siti Musdah Mulia are showing Muslim women how to break out of bondage by using the Koran.

Is progressive Asheville Obama’s vision for America?

Hip, environmentally aware, self-reliant and undeniably quaint, Asheville, N.C is a progressive’s vision of what America could be. But mountain liberalism comes at a price.

For Obama, no buddies abroad

Other U.S. presidents have bonded with foreign leaders, but Obama so far has no such ties. Does that matter?

Condoleezza Rice admits some regrets over Iraq war

Condoleezza Rice on Friday said the US government failed to understand how "broken Iraq was as a society."

Education reform: Can poor test scores get a teacher fired?

In Houston, a controversial education reform measure allows teachers to be fired based on their students' test scores. Some parents back the policy, but teachers unions have reservations.

Scott Brown: the tea party’s first electoral victory

Scott Brown’s win in the Massachusetts special senate election could realign the Republican Party around clean government, fiscal discipline, and respect for the Constitution.

Could Fort Hood visit redefine Obama's relationship with the military?

Recent Democratic presidents have had an uneasy relationship with the armed forces. Obama’s visit to Fort Hood’s memorial service could set the tone for a new rapport with those in uniform.

Do Iran’s hard-liners really believe ‘velvet revolution’ plot?

The indictment of more than 100 Iranians being tried en masse for opposing the regime opens a window onto the world view of those who fear change most.

As US economy struggles, Mexico feels the pressure

The US recession and the swine flu outbreak have delivered a one-two punch to Mexico's sources of revenue, threatening gains against poverty made in the past two decades.

Build on Bush's Middle East progress

Despite Bush's early mistakes, Obama's team can keep valuable momentum there.

A blunt Newt Gingrich on Blago, Palin, and Limbaugh

Will Obama and Clinton work as a team?

They’ve had differences, but Obama is expected to name her as secretary of State.