Human Rights

Beirut's Bastille

The free-for-all inside Lebanon's most notorious prison.

BY SULOME ANDERSON | MAY 2, 2013

How to Close Guantanamo

Why Obama doesn’t need Congress to start to make good on his promise.

BY LAURA PITTER | MAY 1, 2013

The Angst in Foggy Bottom

Many in the State Department aren’t happy with the president’s policy on Syria. And they’re speaking out.

BY GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON | APRIL 30, 2013

Is Obama’s Red Line a Green Light?

It’s time for the president to back up his words with action.

BY SALMAN SHAIKH | APRIL 29, 2013

The World's Most Controversial Walmarts

The big box behemoth might be a global force for good, but expansion doesn't make everyone happy.

BY COLIN DAILEDA | APRIL 29, 2013

Freedom's March

History might not be ending, but democracy is still gaining ground.

MAY/JUNE 2013

China’s Black Hole

Let's face it: We have little idea what's actually going on in Xinjiang and Tibet.

BY ISAAC STONE FISH | APRIL 26, 2013

Weren't Buddhists Supposed to Be Pacifists?

Their religion may stress peace, but some Buddhists are showing that they’re entirely capable of violence in the name of faith.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | APRIL 23, 2013

How to Understand China's Foreign Policy

China can become a beacon for the world -- if it trades in its conservative foreign policy for one that emphasizes universal values.

BY DENG YUWEN | APRIL 23, 2013

The Monks Who Hate Muslims

Buddhist monks have been major instigators of the recent violence against Muslims in Burma.

BY FRANCIS WADE | APRIL 22, 2013

The Invisible War

Russians weren't paying much attention to their own war on terror. But that was before the attacks in Boston.

BY ANNA NEMTSOVA | APRIL 19, 2013

For Shame

Why don't Americans care more about torture?

BY JAMES TRAUB | APRIL 19, 2013

Our Friends in Manama

Why the United States should walk carefully and move slowly when it comes to reform in Bahrain.

BY RONALD E. NEUMANN | APRIL 19, 2013

It's Time to Act in Syria

American values and interests are at stake in stopping the country's slow-motion destruction.

BY DENNIS ROSS | APRIL 18, 2013

Stay the Hand of Vengeance

From Guantánamo to Boston, why Americans have a dangerous tendency to overreact to terrorism.

BY BRUCE WEINSTEIN | APRIL 16, 2013

The Road to Pyongyang Goes Through Helsinki

Here's how you really solve the North Korean nuke problem.

BY FRANK JANNUZI | APRIL 12, 2013

Why Bart Simpson Drives the Venezuelan Authorities Nuts

Venezuela's leaders give new meaning to the phrase “¡Ay, Caramba!”

BY THOR HALVORSSEN , GARRY KASPAROV | APRIL 12, 2013

Peas in a Rotting Pod

How Kim Jong Un is like Bashar al-Assad, and why being in way over his head could lead to war.

BY JACK GOLDSTONE | APRIL 11, 2013

Bahrain's Continuing War on Doctors

The Bahraini government needs to stop targeting medical professionals who dare to treat injured protesters. 

BY RULA AL-SAFFAR | APRIL 10, 2013

Put Your Shirts Back On, Ladies

The case against Femen.

BY NAHEED MUSTAFA | APRIL 8, 2013

Why Dictators Don’t Like Jokes

Pro-democracy activists around the world are discovering that humor is one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against authoritarianism.

BY SRDJA POPOVIC, MLADEN JOKSIC | APRIL 5, 2013

Haiti's Inconvenient Truth

Was a U.N. diplomat pushed out of his position for airing Port-au-Prince's dirty laundry in public?

BY JONATHAN M. KATZ | APRIL 3, 2013

Make Way for the Hybrids

Yes, institutions are important. But institutions that actually work are even better.

BY MATT ANDREWS | APRIL 2, 2013

After Mandela

There will never be another Nelson Mandela, but maybe that’s just what South Africa needs to save itself from ruin.

BY ROY ROBINS | MARCH 29, 2013

The Dead Man's Trial

The posthumous trial of an anti-corruption crusader.

BY ANNA NEMTSOVA | MARCH 22, 2013

The Tip of the Democracy Spear

The U.S. military doesn’t exactly have an unblemished record when it comes to promoting democracy. Is there a way to change that?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MARCH 21, 2013

Leaning Out

How the United States is abandoning Afghanistan's women.

BY AMIE FERRIS-ROTMAN | MARCH 20, 2013

A Government in Search of a Country

Can the newly appointed opposition prime minister form an interim government that Syrians can get behind?

BY JUSTIN VELA | MARCH 20, 2013

The Execution of the Saudi Seven

Saudi Arabia's farcical justice system condemned seven young men to death this week, and the world remained silent.

BY ALI ALAHMED | MARCH 15, 2013

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