Elections

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 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

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

The City with a Short Fuse

How a shrewd politician defused ethnic tension and improved public services in one of Indonesia’s most dysfunctional cities.

BY RUSHDA MAJEED | SEPTEMBER 11, 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

King Boris

Could Boris Johnson, the ridiculous yet charming mayor of London, really go on to lead Britain?

BY ALEX MASSIE | AUGUST 9, 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

Romanian Reality

Democracy is working just as it should in the EU's newest member state, argues the country's prime minister.

BY VICTOR PONTA | JULY 26, 2012

A Country with Fourteen Psychiatrists

Libya is trying to build a new democracy. But that's a tall order for a society plagued by bad memories.

BY PORTIA WALKER | JULY 26, 2012

The Full Measure of Freedom

Can democracy be benchmarked?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JULY 25, 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

Democracy, Salafi Style

One of Saudi Arabia's most popular hardline clerics just embraced democracy. Should we worry, or applaud?

BY AARON Y. ZELIN | JULY 20, 2012

Oh, Brother

Why Egypt's new Islamist president is keeping the Saudis up at night.

BY STEVEN MILLER | JULY 20, 2012

Learning to Live With the Islamist Winter

What to make of the historic election results in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya -- and how the United States should respond.

BY TAMARA COFMAN WITTES | JULY 19, 2012

"The Elite Isn't Going to Lose Control"

Middle East scholar Joshua Stacher explains why democratization in Egypt is only skin deep.

BY PAUL STAROBIN | JULY 19, 2012

The Short List

Do Romney's top veep choices know anything about the world?

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JULY 17, 2012

Give Mexico a Chance

It wouldn’t actually be that hard to restore Mexico’s economic fortunes -- if the new president is willing to show some backbone.

BY ROBERT LOONEY | JULY 16, 2012

Train Wreck Along the Nile

The battle over Egypt's parliament is more than just a legislative disaster. It's a legal nightmare.

BY NATHAN J. BROWN | JULY 10, 2012

It's the Economy, Stupid… Or Is It?

Five foreign policy curveballs that could swing the election.

BY SAMUEL R. BERGER | JULY 9, 2012

A Current of Faith

As a divided Libya heads toward a historic vote, an Islamic "frame of reference" unites the country's political neophytes.

BY MARY FITZGERALD | JULY 6, 2012

Making Enemies from Friends

Hey, Mitt: Russia's not quite America's No. 1 geopolitical foe just yet, but keep up that talk and Vladimir Putin will be happy to oblige.

BY JAMES TRAUB | JULY 6, 2012

Qaddafi Lives

As Libya holds its first post-revolutionary elections, the Brother Leader's legacy is proving hard to overcome.

BY ALISON PARGETER | JULY 6, 2012

The Women of Tahrir Square Fight Back

The revolution in Egypt isn’t over -- at least as long as female revolutionaries have anything to say about it.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JULY 5, 2012

The Return of the Mexican Dinosaur

Mexico's pretty-boy president is more dangerous than he looks.

BY JOHN M. ACKERMAN | JULY 2, 2012

Reach Out to Morsy

Egypt's new president may be no moderate, but he deserves a chance to prove he's no enemy.

BY YOSSI BEILIN | JULY 2, 2012

Sympathy for the Devil

Nostalgia for an ousted tyrant is on the rise in Ivory Coast.

BY AUSTIN MERRILL | JUNE 29, 2012

Containing the Islamist Revolution

The next American president would be naïve to think that the uprisings sweeping the Middle East will be good for America. It's time to retrench and protect U.S. interests from the Islamist tidal wave.

BY EPHRAIM SNEH | JUNE 28, 2012

A Campaign About Nothing

Why are Mexico's presidential candidates ignoring the 800-lb. gorilla in the room -- the failing drug war?

BY MICHAEL SHIFTER | JUNE 28, 2012

The World's Most Meddlesome Supreme Courts

The United States isn't the only country where judges aren't exactly above the political fray.

BY KATIE CELLA | JUNE 25, 2012