North Africa

In the Crosshairs

Why controlling the international arms trade can help to build stable societies.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MAY 22, 2012

Unmanned and Dangerous

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

BY LOUISE ARBOUR | MAY 18, 2012

Did You Hear the One about U.S. Internment Camps?

A leaked Army document on mass detentions has extremists boiling over on both the right and the left.

BY J.M. BERGER | MAY 17, 2012

The FP Survey: The Future of NATO

Does the 63-year-old alliance still matter today? We asked politicians, scholars, and other observers from both sides of the Atlantic to weigh in.

MAY 14, 2012

A Nation of Spies and Snitches

The United States is pretty darn good at infiltrating terrorist groups -- at home and abroad -- these days. But should we be worried about the social costs?

BY J.M. BERGER | MAY 9, 2012

A Man for All Seasons

Egypt's presidential front-runner is a fascinating political chameleon. But does he have enough real support to win the upcoming election?

BY SHADI HAMID | MAY 9, 2012

"Captains Stay with Their Crew"

Most of the Americans charged by Egypt in the NGO affair have since left the country. But one, Robert Becker, decided to stay and face the music.

BY MOHAMED FADEL FAHMY | MAY 2, 2012

Our Man in Baghdad

Don't look now, but the greatest threat to Middle East stability might just be the "democracy" we created in Iraq.

BY JAMES TRAUB | APRIL 27, 2012

Predators for Peace

Drones have revolutionized war. Why not let them deliver aid?

BY JACK C. CHOW | APRIL 27, 2012

Obama's Committee of Salvation

Preventing genocide sounds like a worthy cause. But setting up a new White House committee isn't the way to do it.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | APRIL 25, 2012

How Not to Write About Africa

The media shamefully neglects Africa -- until it decides to swarm a story with terrible coverage.

BY LAURA SEAY | APRIL 25, 2012

Containing Weapons of Mass Surveillance

President Obama is on the right track with Monday's executive order, but the United States needs to get tougher on the global digital arms race.

BY REBECCA MACKINNON | APRIL 24, 2012

Sex and the Single Mullah

Islamic scholars are prepared to answer questions and issue fatwas on almost any realm of modern life. Sometimes, it can get a little kinky.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | APRIL 23, 2012

The Most Powerful Women You've Never Heard Of

The Angela Merkels and Dilma Rousseffs get all the attention. But they're not the only female leaders running the world.

BY FP STAFF | MAY/JUNE 2012

The Heroines of the Arab World

Twelve women challenging their societies to change the status quo.

BY ALLISON GOOD | APRIL 23, 2012

Back to School

Egyptian and Tunisian classrooms learn to learn in a post-dictator era.

BY URSULA LINDSEY | APRIL 23, 2012

The End of History in the New Libya

The Green Book is gone, but what will replace it?

BY CLARE MORGANA GILLIS | MAY/JUNE 2012

The New al Qaeda Franchises

Al Qaeda itself may be diminished after the death of Osama bin Laden, but its affiliates are still sowing instability around the world.

BY LOIS PARSHLEY, HANNA TRUDO | APRIL 23, 2012

Think Again: Al Qaeda

A year after Osama bin Laden's death, the obituaries for his terrorist group are still way too premature.

BY SETH G. JONES | MAY/JUNE 2012

Still the One

Muammar al-Qaddafi may be history in Libya, but in this remote African kingdom he reigns supreme.

BY ANDREW GREEN | MAY/JUNE 2012

Epiphanies from Abdullah Gul

Turkey can be a democratic model for the Middle East, its president says.

INTERVIEW BY BENJAMIN PAUKER | MAY/JUNE 2012

Smart Sanctions: A Short History

How a blunt diplomatic tool morphed into the precision-guided measures we know today.

BY URI FRIEDMAN | MAY/JUNE 2012

The Qatar Bubble

Can this tiny, rich emirate really solve the Middle East's thorniest political conflicts?

BY BLAKE HOUNSHELL | MAY/JUNE 2012

Formula Zero

The world's most craven sport crashes into the smoldering embers of the Arab Spring.

BY ALEX MASSIE | APRIL 20, 2012

The Waste Land

For Nairobi's poorest, the enormous trash dump that's slowly killing them is also the only thing keeping them alive.

BY DAVID CONRAD | APRIL 19, 2012

Dirty Laundry

If the West really wants to prevent developing countries from laundering money, it can start by cleaning up its own act.

BY PETER REUTER | APRIL 19, 2012

The New Arab Oz

We’re not in Kansas anymore, and there is no yellow brick road to guide us to salvation.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | APRIL 18, 2012

The Arab Spring's Best Photos

The Pulitzer committee gives a nod to the best chroniclers of the revolutions.

APRIL 16, 2012

Meet Egypt's next president

BY MARY CASEY | APRIL 12, 2012

The Lesson from Mali: Do No Harm

An African success story is in trouble. Is the West's intervention in Libya to blame?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | APRIL 11, 2012