Central Asia

Weird World of Sports

Fourteen events we'd like to see at the next Olympics.

BY HILLARY HURD | JULY 23, 2012

Talking a Great Game

So far, Washington's pivot to Asia has included a lot of work on security and trade. Democracy, not so much.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JULY 11, 2012

Life Inside Little America in Afghanistan

Photos from a time when tiki bars and afternoons at the pool dominated the lives of Americans in Afghanistan.

BY RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN | JUNE 26, 2012

Deadwood

Forget the best and brightest. Why did America send its C team to Afghanistan? An exclusive excerpt from the new book Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan.

BY RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN | JUNE 26, 2012

Who Cares How Many Women Are in Parliament?

There are plenty of good yardsticks for the state of women’s rights around the world. Parliamentary representation isn’t one of them.

BY JOSHUA FOUST, MELINDA HARING | JUNE 25, 2012

The Great Caspian Arms Race

Inside the petro-fueled naval military buildup you've never heard of: It's Russia versus Iran, with three post-Soviet states -- and trillions of dollars in oil -- in the middle.

BY JOSHUA KUCERA | JUNE 22, 2012

The Caspian's New Sea Monsters

The post-Soviet region has begun a high-stakes arms race, fueled by competition for recently discovered oil fields.

JUNE 22, 2012

No Country for Armed Men

Pakistan is in such bad shape, even the generals don't want to stage a coup.

BY AHMED RASHID | JUNE 22, 2012

What to Do About Pakistan

With an "ally" in a state of perpetual dysfunction, it's time for Washington to reconsider its options: containment or benign neglect.

BY C. CHRISTINE FAIR | JUNE 21, 2012

Putin's Waiting Game

Russia's savvy president isn't trying to start a new Cold War, he's just waiting to see what happens in November.

BY ANDREW S. WEISS | JUNE 19, 2012

8 Geographical Pivot Points

From Angola to Yemen, eight countries whose futures are tied up in the land they occupy.

BY MARGARET SLATTERY | JUNE 18, 2012

10 Reasons Countries Fall Apart

States don't fail overnight. The seeds of of their destruction are sown deep within their political institutions.

BY DARON ACEMOGLU, JAMES A. ROBINSON | JULY/AUGUST 2012

Requiem for a Russian Spy

A CIA veteran remembers his Soviet counterpart.

BY MILTON BEARDEN | JULY/AUGUST 2012

The Patience Runs Out

The United States has put up with Pakistan's insidious double game for a decade now. Not anymore.

BY SHAMILA N. CHAUDHARY | JUNE 12, 2012

Unmanned and Dangerous

Why NATO's expanding use of drones is a disturbing trend.

BY LOUISE ARBOUR | MAY 18, 2012

The World in Photos This Week

France fetes a new president, Spanish activists take to the streets, and Ratko Mladic finally goes to trial.

MAY 18, 2012

Portrait of The Hague as a Young Court

As Ratko Mladic goes on trial for war crimes at The Hague today, graphic artist Joe Sacco takes us back to the international tribunal's early days.

BY JOE SACCO | MAY 16, 2012

Anatomy of a Massacre

Investigating the worst war crime in modern Europe.

BY MICHAEL DOBBS | MAY 15, 2012

The World in Photos This Week

France gets a new president, neo-Nazis make gains in Greece, and Putin hits the ice.

MAY 11, 2012

Shanghaied

Why you shouldn't believe everything you read about China. Hint: not even the journalists really know what’s going on.

BY GEOFF DYER | MAY 10, 2012

The Asian Arms Race That Wasn't

India and Pakistan are firing off missiles left and right. So why aren't the Chinese nervous?

BY M. TAYLOR FRAVEL, VIPIN NARANG | MAY 8, 2012

Medvedev the Phony

Russia's outgoing president was never the liberal reformer he claimed to be. But don't just take our word for it -- he said so himself.

BY LILIA SHEVTSOVA, DAVID J. KRAMER | MAY 7, 2012

Putin Forever

He's the president of Russia. He's a race-car driver. He's a blackbelt in judo. He's Vladimir Putin.

MAY 4, 2012

Really, Really Big Oil

Steve Coll's global tour of how ExxonMobil, the international "supermajor" and world's most profitable company, still rules.

INTERVIEW BY BENJAMIN PAUKER | MAY 4, 2012

The World in Photos This Week

Chen Guangcheng became an icon, demonstrators rallied for May Day, and Newt Gingrich bowed out.

MAY 4, 2012

Lying to Tell the Truth

Saving the world is no excuse for fudging the facts.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MAY 1, 2012

The Work of All Nations

President Barack Obama's creation of an Atrocities Prevention Board is an important step, but America can't prevent genocide alone.

BY HASHIM THACI | APRIL 27, 2012

Saving Somalia

Turkey may just be able to fix this war-torn east African nation -- if it doesn't fall into the same traps of would-be saviors who came before it.

BY LAURA HEATON | APRIL 24, 2012

Campaign Literature

Barack Obama is much stronger on foreign policy than Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie suggest.

APRIL 23, 2012

Some Good News from Afghanistan

With a new partnership agreement, the United States has a chance to wind down its mission with its interests intact.

BY ZALMAY KHALILZAD | APRIL 23, 2012