Development

The Tangled Tale of Malaysia's Dirty Battleground State

How an ex-British prime minister’s sister-in-law, a headhunter’s grandson, dodgy PR firms, and a Malaysian kingpin are colliding in a fight over the future of democracy.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MARCH 13, 2013

What Bill Gates Got Wrong About Why Nations Fail

Did the Microsoft founder even read our book before he criticized it?

BY DARON ACEMOGLU , JAMES ROBINSON | MARCH 12, 2013

Doctor in a Desperate Land

Why an American has chosen to bind his life to Sudan.

BY JEFFREY BARTHOLET | MARCH 7, 2013

The House That Chavez Built

Hugo Chávez subordinated the needs of Venezuela’s economy to the imperative of keeping himself in power. Now the job of cleaning up falls to his successor.

BY JAVIER CORRALES | MARCH 7, 2013

Battle-Tested

Insiders debate America's misfires in Iraq and Afghanistan.

MARCH 4, 2013

What Went Right?

Critics of the war are missing the big picture: Afghanistan is much better off today.

BY PETER BERGEN | MARCH 4, 2013

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Democracy is in retreat. And there's a surprising culprit.

BY JOSHUA KURLANTZICK | MARCH 4, 2013

Frontier Markets

How second-generation emerging markets became today's hottest investment story.

BY TY MCCORMICK | MARCH 4, 2013

Epiphanies from Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Nigeria's finance minister on resource curses, African growth, and why America shouldn't be so smug about corruption.

INTERVIEW BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | MARCH 4, 2013

The Case for Big Brother

A little government monitoring can be a good thing.

BY CHARLES KENNY | MARCH 4, 2013

The Kenya Puzzle

In Kenya, progress and dysfunction go hand in hand.

BY DANIEL BRANCH | FEBRUARY 28, 2013

There is no Indonesia Model for the Arab Spring

Yes, Muslim-majority Indonesia has made a successful transition to democracy. But no, that doesn’t make it an example for the Arab Spring.

BY TOM PEPINSKY | FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Morales Walks the Populist High Wire

Morales talks big populist talk. Here's how it's actually working out. 

BY ROBERT LOONEY | FEBRUARY 26, 2013

A Place of One's Own

Land is more than real estate. In many parts of the world, it’s the key to survival, belonging, and identity.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Sneaking in the Back Door

Did Hugo Chávez quietly slip back into Venezuela to die?

BY PETER WILSON | FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Putin Declares War on Sleaze

Vladimir Putin is vowing to make a dent in the eternal Russian problem of corruption. Skepticism is warranted.

BY ANNA NEMTSOVA | FEBRUARY 20, 2013

Venezuela's New Era

Venezuelans are contemplating the possibility of a new life without Hugo Chávez. But can the existing system continue in the absence of its creator?

BY PHIL GUNSON | FEBRUARY 19, 2013

What George W. Bush Did Right

The 43rd president of the United States did a great thing for humankind -- but most Americans have no idea.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Free Trade or Penalty-Free Crime?

Free Trade Zones are meant to promote trade and improve economies. But they often end up being a cover for crime.

BY ROGER BATE | FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Georgia's Political Standoff Deepens

A letter from Tbilisi

BY ANNA NEMTSOVA | FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Startup Sovereigns

Statehood ain't what it used to be.

BY PARAG KHANNA, SAWSAN GAD | FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Love Is a Battlefield

Are the Taliban using sex to fight America?

BY MUJIB MASHAL | FEBRUARY 5, 2013

Death Comes Quietly in Mali

It’s not Islamic radicals or war that’s killing the poor people of the Sahel. It’s something far simpler.

BY ANNA BADKHEN | FEBRUARY 5, 2013

The First Lab Results Are In

Democracy Lab is celebrating its first anniversary. Here are some of the things we've learned over the past year -- and where we're headed in year two.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JANUARY 31, 2013

Measure for Measure

We can make dramatic progress in lowering maternal mortality -- but we need better data, and more of it.

BY MELINDA GATES | JANUARY 31, 2013

We Have No Idea if Africa Is Rising

Recent FP contributors have said that Africa is and is not rising. They're both wrong because they don't have the numbers to back it up.

BY MORTEN JERVEN | JANUARY 28, 2013

Broken Tooth and New Macau

How China crushed the triad gangs and created the world's new gambling Mecca.

BY BENJAMIN CARLSON | JANUARY 28, 2013

Continental Shift

Why the Pentagon should pay less attention to Africa.

BY GORDON ADAMS | JANUARY 25, 2013

Our Man in Havana

Was USAID planning to overthrow Castro?

BY PETER KORNBLUH | JANUARY 25, 2013

India's Missing Ingredients

Indian growth is slowing. But there are two key reforms that will help.

BY HEMAL SHAH | JANUARY 24, 2013