The Economist

The year 2012 was, in some ways, a bad one for world news. With much of the English-speaking world consumed by the U.S. presidential election, serious foreign policy discussion -- much to the chagrin of more than a few wonks, reporters and analysts -- was often muted or, at best, glossed over and reduced to talking points. This madeRealClearWorld's work all the more challenging this year, as we did our best every day to see past the bullet points and provide our readers with the best world news commentary.