Human Rights

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

Kenya's Most Wanted

The United States must find a way to work with its East African ally, even if it's run by an accused perpetrator of crimes against humanity.

BY SUZANNE NOSSEL | MARCH 12, 2013

Political Tremors in the Caucasus

There’s a distinct whiff of desire for political change wafting through the Caucasus.

BY THOMAS DE WAAL | MARCH 8, 2013

Lean Forward

Why there's finally cause for celebration this International Women's Day

BY VALERIE M. HUDSON | MARCH 8, 2013

Doctor in a Desperate Land

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

BY JEFFREY BARTHOLET | MARCH 7, 2013

The Democracy Boondoggle in Iraq

The U.S. spent billions promoting democracy in Iraq. Now the official verdict is in: It was all for nothing.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MARCH 5, 2013

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

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

BY JOSHUA KURLANTZICK | MARCH 4, 2013

What Happened in Luvungi?

On rape and truth in Congo.

BY LAURA HEATON | MARCH 4, 2013

Mind the Gap

Charles Kenny is too quick to call off the clash of civilizations.

MARCH 4, 2013

Pilgrims and Idiots

How celebrities should handle visits to authoritarian countries in today's world.

BY ARCH PUDDINGTON | MARCH 1, 2013

Vote M for Murder

In Kenya, politics is simply the continuation of war, by other means.

BY JAMES VERINI | 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

The Russia Gambit

For the sake of Syrian lives, John Kerry’s got to play hardball with Moscow.

BY CHRISTOPHER S. CHIVVIS, EDWARD P. JOSEPH | FEBRUARY 26, 2013

The Inconvenient Diplomat

A farewell to the man who spoke out against Latin America’s leading bullies.

BY JAVIER EL-HAGE, THOR HALVORSSEN | FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Stand with Rwanda

Now is no time to cut aid to Kigali.

BY TONY BLAIR, HOWARD G. BUFFETT | FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Listening In

New revelations at Guantánamo show the walls have ears, and justice is being made a mockery.

BY LAURA PITTER | FEBRUARY 21, 2013

It's Not About Us

Forget about the “war on terror.” The next few decades will be dominated by the bitter divide within Islam itself.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | FEBRUARY 20, 2013

The Curse of Stability in Central Asia

The autocrats of Central Asia like to tout the virtues of stability. But they're really making excuses for decay.

BY SARAH KENDZIOR | FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Forget the Flowers and Candy

Images from the women's rights rallies that have been taking place around the world this week.

BY NEHA PALIWAL | FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Gay Paris

What has taken France so long to step up to the altar of equality?

BY ERIC PAPE | FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Revolution, Interrupted

There's a reason Egyptians keep taking to the streets: The Muslim Brotherhood has proved to be little more than the old Mubarak clique with beards.

BY HANI SHUKRALLAH | FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Martyrs of the Revolution

If history is any guide, today’s assassination in Tunisia could set off a dangerous revolutionary dynamic.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Capitol Indifference

Washington ignores Russia's obsession with America at its own peril.

BY DMITRI TRENIN | FEBRUARY 1, 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

Think Again: The Muslim Brotherhood

How did so many Western analysts get Egypt's Islamist movement so wrong?

BY ERIC TRAGER | JANUARY 28, 2013