Freedom

Sonnets for the Mujahideen

The militant movement has a little-examined sensitive side.

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 Miracle of Midland

How a West Texas oil town became an unlikely champion of human rights.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MAY 15, 2012

Jesus Loves China, Too

Why I'm working to save my homeland, one soul at a time.

BY BOB FU | MAY 14, 2012

Burma Can Bring It

It’s true: Burma faces an uphill climb in its transition to democracy. But the odds may be better than you think.

BY MICHAEL ALBERTUS, VICTOR MENALDO | MAY 14, 2012

Terrorist Fishing in the Yemen

The Obama administration has doubled down on the use of drones to go after bad guys. How long until the blowback comes?

BY JAMES TRAUB | MAY 11, 2012

Getting Ready for Life after Castro

Managing the transition to a democratic Cuba: A user’s guide.

BY JAIME SUCHLICKI | MAY 11, 2012

The 140-Character Fatwa

Enormously popular, extremist Saudi clerics are promoting hatred, violence, and intolerance on Facebook and Twitter. Can they be stopped?

BY JONATHAN SCHANZER, STEVEN L. MILLER | MAY 9, 2012

Spring Is Over

Has the Russian protest movement fatally weakened Vladimir Putin? Don’t bet on it.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MAY 8, 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

Teaching Intolerance

You should see what even first graders have to read in Saudi Arabia.

BY EMAN AL NAFJAN | 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

Epiphanies from Abdullah Gul

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

INTERVIEW BY BENJAMIN PAUKER | MAY/JUNE 2012

Georgia on My Mind

The Georgian ambassador pushes back against Thomas de Waal's portrayal of his country.

MAY/JUNE 2012

5 Secrets Anonymous Should Steal from China

Let’s get real, script kiddies: It's time to stop defacing websites and start going after the good stuff.

BY ADAM SEGAL | APRIL 20, 2012

Yemeni Idol

It's not easy being the second-biggest rock band in Sanaa.

BY GAAR ADAMS | APRIL 13, 2012

Bush Was Right

The former president's Freedom Agenda correctly identified the Middle East's dictatorships as the incubators of extremism.

BY GARY C. GAMBILL | APRIL 9, 2012

Finish What You Start

Getting rid of a dictator is a great achievement. But it's only the beginning of a successful transition to democracy.

BY SRDJA POPOVIC, ROBERT HELVEY | APRIL 6, 2012

The Wages of 9/11

The war on terror may be over, but it's left behind a terrible human rights legacy -- and Barack Obama has done very little about it.

BY JAMES TRAUB | APRIL 6, 2012

16 Ways to Fix Burma

On the eve of the country's historic elections, 16 experts give us their prescriptions for the future.

MARCH 30, 2012

Letting Burma Back In

Experts debate whether the role of sanctions was successful in opening up Burma. But with the up-coming by-elections and the release of political prisoners, the greater challenge may be how to lift them.

BY TOM MALINOWSKI | MARCH 30, 2012

The Lady and the Peacock

An exclusive excerpt from the new biography on Burma's democratic opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

BY PETER POPHAM | MARCH 26, 2012

100 Million Viewers Can't Be Wrong

How Kony 2012 succeeded beyond our wildest expectations.

BY ADAM FINCK | MARCH 16, 2012

Hungary's Pit Bull Prime Minister

How one of Europe’s most celebrated anti-communists become the bad boy of the continent.

BY JAMES KIRCHICK | MARCH 16, 2012

The Goldilocks Principle

No one's perfect, and surely not President Obama. But in the rough and tumble world of foreign policy, it's hard to argue he hasn't done most things just about right.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | MARCH 15, 2012

No Teacher Left Behind

The good news is that more kids are in school, and for longer, than ever before. But if we want them to actually learn something, it's time to focus on the teachers.

BY CHARLES KENNY | MARCH 12, 2012

A Recipe for Freedom

Five lessons from South Africa's transition to democracy. Excerpts from a recent speech by the country's ex-president.

BY F.W. DE KLERK | MARCH 12, 2012

Couch of Duty

Five reasons why video games are lousy propaganda.

BY MICHAEL PECK | MARCH 6, 2012

Hoping Against All Hope

Tibetans are setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. So is there anything the leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile can do about it?

BY SUDIP MAZUMDAR | MARCH 5, 2012

The Egypt Backlash

Is it a fantasy to believe that the United States can still promote democracy in non-democratic states?

BY JAMES TRAUB | MARCH 2, 2012