Democracy

Venezuela's Magical Realist Voters

The key to next month's presidential election may well lie in the hands of a mysterious and nebulous bloc of swing voters.

BY DANIEL LANSBERG-RODRÍGUEZ | SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

How to Save the Regime in Tehran

Shirin Ebadi, Iran's leading human rights activist, explains why on attack on the country's nuclear program is just what the mullahs have been yearning for.

BY NAZILA FATHI | SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

The Revolution in Tunisia Stalls

Even before last week's riots at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, the progress of Tunisia's revolution was beginning to look rocky. Here's why.

BY FADIL ALIRIZA | SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Slouching Toward Democracy

2011 was a bad year for democracy. But there are a few glimmers of hope in the Middle East .

BY VANESSA TUCKER | SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The Problem with Patriotism

The dispute over islands in the East China Sea is stirring up nationalist passions in the region. That doesn't bode well for the future of democracy.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Buddhism Problem

Why isn't Burma's democracy icon speaking up for minorities -- and against her country's nationalistic, racist, xenophobic, and occasionally violent Buddhist majority?

BY WILLIAM MCGOWAN | SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Buddhist Monks Behaving Badly

The boys in saffron are marching again. But this time there’s nothing that's noble about it.

BY FRANCIS WADE | SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

It's Time to Act in Syria

Yes, it's true: Military involvement in Syria has its risks. But the costs of non-intervention are growing by the day.

BY MARK N. KATZ | SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

The Battle of the Shrines

The attack on the U.S. diplomats in Benghazi isn't the first time that Libya's ultraconservative Islamists have tried to shake things up. Can the country's nascent democracy rise to the challenge?

BY SHARRON WARD | SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

Don't Give Up on the Arab Spring

Why America did the right thing in Libya -- and freedom will eventually win.

BY SHADI HAMID | SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

The Gang That Can't Shoot Straight

The Syrian National Council has failed to galvanize international support for the rebellion -- and it has only itself to blame.

BY MALIK AL-ABDEH | SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Learning Europe's Lessons in Africa

Why five East African countries are trying to follow in the European Union's footsteps -- minus the common currency.

BY BLAIR GLENCORSE AND CHARLES LANDOW | SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Burma's President Shakes Up the Chessboard

Why the president's cabinet reshuffle portends a new move toward reform.

BY LARRY JAGAN | SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Bucking the Odds in North Korea

Why Kim Jong Un might just dare to be different.

BY JAY ULFELDER | SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

The Great Ballot Box Caper

How do you conduct an election when contending political forces don't agree on the rules? An unlikely study in compromise from Northern Ireland in 2005.

BY MICHAEL SCHARFF | SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Bullish on the Bear

It’s hard to find people who are optimistic about the future of Russian democracy. Leon Aron explains why he’s one of them.

BY PAUL STAROBIN | SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Sound and Sensible

Mitt Romney’s foreign policy would echo the best of America’s bipartisan traditions. But the desperate Obama caricature of it is just a sad indication of how much the president has failed.

BY PETER D. FEAVER | AUGUST 30, 2012

Lonely Planet Responds to 'Leftist Planet'

The quotes in Michael Moynihan's article are taken out of context and mischaracterize Lonely Planet's mission.

BY STEPHEN PALMER | AUGUST 22, 2012

The Point Guard

Susan Rice calls the plays for Barack Obama at the United Nations. Could she lead his foreign-policy team next? Should she?

BY JAMES TRAUB | SEPT/OCT 2012

Revolutionary Calculus

Hussein Ibish is too quick to dismiss the Arab Spring as a failure.

SEPT/OCT 2012

Failed States Index

The troubling ambiguity of FP's rankings. Plus: Finland comes in last for once.

SEPT/OCT 2012

The Reformer in Rabat

Is Morocco’s King Mohammed VI the savviest ruler in the Arab world?

BY JAMES TRAUB | AUGUST 10, 2012

Fiasco in the Levant

Unless the United States gets serious now about its postwar planning, Syria could spin out of control.

BY JAMES DOBBINS | AUGUST 8, 2012

Smokeless Stoves, Girl-Friendly Schools, and the Bloc That Wasn’t

Academic economists usually air their new ideas first in working papers. Here, before the work gets dusty, a quick look at transition policy research in progress.

BY PETER PASSELL | AUGUST 3, 2012

Burma's Lost Boys

The government in Burma is promising to clean up its act. But the army is still recruiting child soldiers.

BY PATRICK BODENHAM | AUGUST 2, 2012

Local Bloodshed, Global Headache

Sectarian conflict in Burma is once again spurring talk of a “global war against Islam.”

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | AUGUST 1, 2012

The Arabian Horse

Can Egypt's economy deliver on the revolutionary promise of a better future for all?

BY MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN | JULY 31, 2012

The Full Measure of Freedom

Can democracy be benchmarked?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JULY 25, 2012

The House of Nehru-Gandhi

India ought to consider becoming a constitutional monarchy. After all, it already has a royal family.

BY SADANAND DHUME | JULY 20, 2012

Baby Steps

With the slow but steady consolidation of militias and the success of moderate democratic parties, despite all odds, it seems like Libya might be on the right path.

BY JAMES TRAUB | JULY 20, 2012