Democracy

Getting Down to Business

The bad news is Washington hasn't seen the last of its bickering, dithering, and gridlock. The good news is Obama can change that in his first 100 days. 

BY MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN | JANUARY 2, 2013

A New Law of Petropolitics

Sorry, Tom Friedman, higher oil prices don't always mean lower levels of democracy.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JANUARY 2, 2013

The Law Still Stands

Why I stand by my arguments about oil and dictatorship.

BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN | JANUARY 2, 2013

The Convergence of Civilizations

The oft-predicted "clash of civilizations" has not materialized. If anything, values are converging across cultures.

BY CHARLES KENNY | JANUARY 2, 2013

The Year the Arab Spring Went Bad

Hopes for a democratic Middle East have faltered amid sectarian animosities and ideological divisions. Did it have to be this way?

BY F. GREGORY GAUSE, III | DECEMBER 31, 2012

You're a Mean One, Mr. Putin

Was 2012 the year Russia's president finally lost it?

BY ANDERS ASLUND | DECEMBER 28, 2012

Is It Over Yet?

Haunting photos of a year in the life of the war America is still fighting.

DECEMBER 27, 2012

The Midlife Crisis of Bangladesh

Bangladeshis want a reckoning with their bloody past. But they can do it without partisanship?

BY JOSEPH ALLCHIN | DECEMBER 21, 2012

A Network of Dictators

There's a fight brewing for the future of the Internet.

BY JAMES A. LEWIS | DECEMBER 21, 2012

Moving On Up

Turkey is now a solidly middle-income state. But there are still plenty of roadblocks on the path ahead.

BY HILTON L. ROOT | DECEMBER 21, 2012

In Defense of Civil Society

Civil society does exist in authoritarian countries.

BY KERRY COSBY | DECEMBER 20, 2012

What Africa Did Right in 2012

Africans are getting better at finding their own solutions to African problems.

BY JON TEMIN | DECEMBER 20, 2012

Nothing Is Written

The triumph of democracy isn't inevitable. It has to be fought for.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | DECEMBER 19, 2012

The Talented Mr. Modi

Narendra Modi is still banned from the United States for his involvement in deadly anti-Muslim riots. Could he be the next leader of India?

BY SADANAND DHUME | DECEMBER 19, 2012

The Dictator's Daughter

The heir of a controversial South Korean autocrat is now the country's first female president. Can she emerge from his shadow?

BY GEOFFREY CAIN | DECEMBER 18, 2012

Fiscal Cliff: A Short History

How did the phrase become shorthand for Washington's embrace of budget brinkmanship?

BY URI FRIEDMAN | DECEMBER 18, 2012

'These Guys Are Thugs'

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei speaks exclusively to Foreign Policy on the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt's political crisis.

Interview by DAVID KENNER | DECEMBER 18, 2012

The Brothers and the Gulf

Why the Muslim Brotherhood has Gulf leaders worried -- now more than ever.

BY SULTAN AL QASSEMI | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Europe's Pet Dictator

Parts of the old Soviet bloc have moved on. So why is Belarus still mired in despotism?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | DECEMBER 13, 2012

Born Free, But Not Indifferent

Yes the government should protect free speech. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t speak out.

BY COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER | DECEMBER 12, 2012

Yemen's Rocky Roadmap

Yemenis hope that a planned National Dialogue will save the revolution. But what abut the guys with the guns? 

BY ADAM BARON | DECEMBER 10, 2012

The Anti-Godfather

How a mayor set out to save a Sicilian city from neglect and Mafia influence.

BY LAURA BACON, RUSHDA MAJEED | DECEMBER 10, 2012

Don't Rush to Judgment on Georgia

The new Georgian government's arrests of oppositionists have critics crying foul. But they should let justice run its course.

BY MICHAEL CECIRE | DECEMBER 4, 2012

Obama's Moment

How the president can seize back the initiative on foreign policy.

BY ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI | DECEMBER 3, 2012

Stop Talking About Civil Society

Using terms like "civil society" is a distraction from the real problems in authoritarian countries. 

BY SARAH KENDZIOR | DECEMBER 3, 2012

How to Cope with Windfall Wealth

Mongolia has been doing a remarkable job of managing a natural-resource bonanza. But dangers still lie ahead.

BY PETER MURRELL, CHULUUNBAT NARANTUYA | NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Georgian Dream Shows Its Dark Side

Georgia's president-elect is putting the country in strong danger of losing its hard won democracy.

BY JAMES KIRCHICK | NOVEMBER 29, 2012

The Dicey Democrat

How a pillar of the old regime in Burma is working to prove his democratic credentials.

BY WILLIAM LLOYD-GEORGE | NOVEMBER 28, 2012

'Beyond the Pale'

The Pentagon responds to Micah Zenko.

BY GEORGE LITTLE | NOVEMBER 28, 2012

Twice As Rice

Who said it: Condoleezza or Susan?

NOVEMBER 27, 2012