Human Rights

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

The Silence in Delhi

The trial of India's vicious gang-rapists is under way, but don't think for a second the government is really committed to reform of women's rights.

BY MIRANDA KENNEDY | JANUARY 25, 2013

Why the Killing in Syria Is Just the Beginning

The international community’s failure on Syria limits its power to act against the even bigger bloodletting that’s likely to happen down the road.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JANUARY 25, 2013

Rainbow Coalition

A gay rights revolution is sweeping across the Americas. It's time for Washington to catch up.

BY J. LESTER FEDER | JANUARY 24, 2013

What I Learned from Gérard Depardieu

The French actor's case is the exception that proves the rule: Citizenship still matters.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JANUARY 16, 2013

The Most Hated Woman in Israel

Haneen Zoabi has made her career speaking up for Israel's Arab minority. In Benjamin Netanyahu's Israel, that's becoming harder each day.

BY LARRY DERFNER | JANUARY 11, 2013

Responsibility to Object

It's time for the U.N. Security Council to do something about war crimes in Syria.  

BY DAVID KAYE | JANUARY 10, 2013

The Year in Unfreedom

An encouraging number of the world's people voted in 2012. But voting does not a democracy make.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JANUARY 4, 2013

A New Law of Petropolitics

Sorry, Tom Friedman, higher oil prices don't always mean lower levels of democracy.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JANUARY 2, 2013

The Law Still Stands

Why I stand by my arguments about oil and dictatorship.

BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN | JANUARY 2, 2013

India Has a Woman Problem

And there's no denying it anymore.

BY RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL | DECEMBER 28, 2012

The Midlife Crisis of Bangladesh

Bangladeshis want a reckoning with their bloody past. But they can do it without partisanship?

BY JOSEPH ALLCHIN | DECEMBER 21, 2012

Moving On Up

Turkey is now a solidly middle-income state. But there are still plenty of roadblocks on the path ahead.

BY HILTON L. ROOT | DECEMBER 21, 2012

In Defense of Civil Society

Civil society does exist in authoritarian countries.

BY KERRY COSBY | DECEMBER 20, 2012

What Africa Did Right in 2012

Africans are getting better at finding their own solutions to African problems.

BY JON TEMIN | DECEMBER 20, 2012

Nothing Is Written

The triumph of democracy isn't inevitable. It has to be fought for.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | DECEMBER 19, 2012

Europe's Pet Dictator

Parts of the old Soviet bloc have moved on. So why is Belarus still mired in despotism?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | DECEMBER 13, 2012

Born Free, But Not Indifferent

Yes the government should protect free speech. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t speak out.

BY COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER | DECEMBER 12, 2012

The 7 Deadly Sins of Congo's Peace Process

Congo is an object lesson in how not to resolve conflicts. It's time we changed that.

BY JOHN PRENDERGAST | DECEMBER 7, 2012

Back to the (Soviet) Future

Dear Vladimir Putin, I'm a human rights activist, not a spy.

BY TANYA LOKSHINA | DECEMBER 5, 2012

Waiting for the Rain

In the impenetrable Dogon highlands of Mali, the storm of war is coming.

BY PETER CHILSON | DECEMBER 4, 2012

Stop Talking About Civil Society

Using terms like "civil society" is a distraction from the real problems in authoritarian countries. 

BY SARAH KENDZIOR | DECEMBER 3, 2012

Heroes of Retreat, Revisited

We love to celebrate heroic crusaders for human rights. But what about the dictator who decides to surrender his powers?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | NOVEMBER 30, 2012

The Dicey Democrat

How a pillar of the old regime in Burma is working to prove his democratic credentials.

BY WILLIAM LLOYD-GEORGE | NOVEMBER 28, 2012

In Rebel Country

How did 1,000 skinny militiamen in rubber boots conquer a city of 1 million people in a matter of hours?

BY JAMES VERINI | NOVEMBER 27, 2012

The Battle for Goma

Once again, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has descended into chaos.

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Beware of Mirages

The Obama Administration is pursuing closer ties with the military in Burma -- a policy that could undermine efforts to build democracy.

BY ELLEN BORK | NOVEMBER 26, 2012

The Lady and the General

Meet the political odd couple driving democratic reform in Burma.

BY KURT M. CAMPBELL | DECEMBER 2012

A Change Is Gonna Come

Chen Guangcheng on freedom, violence, and the possibility of a revolution in China.

INTERVIEW BY ISAAC STONE FISH | DECEMBER 2012