All Opinion

After the Citizens United ruling, reformers worry the Supreme Court may further loosen campaign finance restrictions with this term's McCutcheon case. But there's a new way to limit money in politics: private agreements between candidates not to allow third-party campaign spending.

Americans are not nearly as polarized as Congress and favor practical solutions. But the means they have for communicating with their representatives are no longer effective. That’s why we’re starting a 'Citizen Cabinet' in every district so lawmakers really know voters' views.

Voice of the People founder Steven Kull suggests three ways for Americans to have their voice better heard in Congress through an advisory 'Citizen Cabinet' in every congressional district.

Stemming from fear that autonomous robots could embark on a campaign of indiscriminate killing, some have called for a global moratorium on 'lethal autonomous robotics.' In fact, there is a convincing base of evidence that robots are more likely to prevent slaughter than engage in it.

Three key reforms could improve governance in Congress and lessen the disunity that plagued Speaker John Boehner and the Republicans throughout the debt-ceiling and government shutdown debate. Congressional leaders need more influence over their members, not less.

Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto’s political grand bargain among rival parties has helped usher in long-needed reforms. The US has something to learn from Mexico’s willingness to put country ahead of party.

As the Senate nears a budget deal to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, Theodore Roosevelt’s efforts to seek out fellow citizens across party lines and divisions of class, creed, and culture are a timely example for Washington's brinkmanship.

If only the inventors of infomercial products like the Side Socket and Flex Seal could help Congress end the shutdown and extend the debt ceiling. Their American ingenuity would find the budget solution and sell it to us for $19.99 plus shipping and handling.

As the Supreme Court hears arguments in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action today, my view as a University of Michigan Law School professor is worth considering: Racial diversity has virtually no effect on educational quality and isn't the real rationale for the policy.

The abduction of Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan yesterday shows that Libya is unlikely to emerge from anarchy without outside help. NATO should train government security forces. The UN or EU should sponsor a disarmament conference with the militias destabilizing the country.

Investing in the education and health of girls pays huge dividends. Now is the time to recommit to empowering girls and ending child marriage and human trafficking, not just because it is morally right but because it is the smartest way to build a more peaceful and prosperous world.

House Speaker John Boehner has spent much of his speakership placating tea party conservatives. Now, he should worry more about the 23 mainstream Republicans who hate debt-ceiling brinkmanship and government shutdown. They could join with Democrats to oust Boehner.

Bashar al-Assad's recent track record shows it is likely the regime will not live up to agreements on Syria's chemical weapons with the UN, Russia, and the US unless there are repercussions for stonewalling. For Obama, that means keeping the threat of military force alive.

Whatever success Republicans might achieve with the government shutdown and debt strategy, political dysfunction in Washington is not cost-free internationally. Nowhere are the risks to US interests greater than in Asia, where President Obama was supposed to be this week.

In cases on campaign finance (McCutcheon v. FEC) and affirmative action, the US Supreme Court will again consider how best to ensure 'a level playing field.' The Roberts court should be careful not to favor an idealized principle of equal treatment that ignores social realities.

Disruptive teacher strikes are a tradition in Mexico. Students suffer most from the practice, which can end if the federal government admits to its use of excessive force against the teachers union and if the union admits that its arm-twisting tactics do more harm than good.

As former rival gang members from Nairobi's slums we know that the best response to violence is peace and unity. In the wake of the Westgate Mall terror attack, we implore people in Kenya not to respond with violence and reprisals, especially against Muslims and Somalis.

Iran's President Rouhani is sincere about a nuclear deal, because the costs of building a nuclear bomb are too high. But demonizing the US is still the linchpin of foreign policy for a certain faction in Tehran. For them, normalization of US relations would mean the regime's end.

The challenges ahead for Germany and Europe are on a grand scale. Therefore, a 'grand coalition' between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the opposition Social Democrats is best for Germany and for Europe.