In 2015, movements up and down the rankings had more to do with foreign policy missteps than with any actual achievements.

The biggest story in America today is the roaring return of Andrew Jackson’s spirit into the political debate.

The more Tehran and Riyadh hate and fear one another, the more valuable Pakistan’s support, or at least neutrality, appears.

Will the new president get into a confrontation with the mainland?

We are probably seeing the latest stage in the unfolding saga of the Reformation in the English-speaking world.

It’s probably bursting, one way or another. And the world hasn’t figured out what to do about it.

Another old rival is now in the Saudi camp.

Christmas is important to Christians because from their point of view the Baby Jesus is the meaning of Christmas, and the meaning of Christmas is the meaning of life.

A grim picture of rising costs suggests that the Affordable Care Act, with its focus on coverage expansion rather than cost control, came at things from the wrong end.

South America is arguably the one arena where President Obama’s hands-off strategy has worked. But things could still get very ugly, very soon.