Human Rights

To Leave or Not to Leave

President Hugo Chávez’s victory in the presidential election has some Venezuelans wondering whether it's time to leave.

BY DANIEL LANSBERG-RODRIGUEZ | OCTOBER 16, 2012

A Revolutionary Foreign Policy

The Muslim Brotherhood's political party promises to transform Egypt's place in the world.

BY AMR DARRAG | OCTOBER 16, 2012

Amputation is No Cure for Cancer

South Sudan is gone. But the government in Khartoum still can't escape what ails Sudan.

BY JON TEMIN | OCTOBER 15, 2012

Why a Constitution Is a Bad Place for a Blasphemy Law

A constitutional ban on blasphemy might sound like a good idea to some. But it can mean less freedom for everyone.

BY KATRINA LANTOS SWETT, ROBERT P. GEORGE | OCTOBER 15, 2012

The New Sheriff in Town

At an outpost on the Turkish-Syrian border, rebel fighters are the law.

BY SARAH A. TOPOL | OCTOBER 12, 2012

Remembering the White Terror

25 years after the end of authoritarianism, Taiwan is still struggling to come to terms with its past.

BY AMBER PARCHER | OCTOBER 12, 2012

Uniformity

Why are all these advocacy groups aligning themselves with the military?

BY ROSA BROOKS | OCTOBER 11, 2012

Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel Pick

China's most famous dissident never wanted the honor.

BY YU JIE | OCTOBER 11, 2012

Aleppo Burns

While the United States offers "non-lethal aid," the destruction of Syria's largest city continues.

OCTOBER 10, 2012

We Are All Malala

Why can't Pakistanis condemn the Taliban for shooting a 14-year-old girl?

BY NADEEM F. PARACHA | OCTOBER 10, 2012

Handicapping the Nobel Peace Prize

Pundits usually do a terrible job predicting the winner of the world's most prestigious peace award. With that caveat in mind, here goes...

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | OCTOBER 10, 2012

Putin's Miscalculation

It was a big mistake to pick on a pregnant human rights activist. The world must hold whoever was responsible to account.

BY KENNETH ROTH | OCTOBER 5, 2012

No Exit

For the first time in many years, Venezuela’s presidential election is raising the possibility of an electoral defeat for Hugo Chávez. But if he loses, does that mean he’ll go?

BY DANIEL LANSBERG-RODRIGUEZ | OCTOBER 4, 2012

An Idealist on Death Row

Why the desperate fate of a little-known Sudanese human rights activists poses some fundamental questions about what it means to be human.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | OCTOBER 3, 2012

Unsung Heroes

Some of the world's bravest dissidents are pursuing their fight against injustice with little attention from the outside world. But that doesn't mean they aren't worth knowing about. Here's a list of remarkable people who rarely make it into the headlines.

BY TOM MALINOWSKI | OCTOBER 3, 2012

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Seven countries where Internet freedom is under threat.

BY SANJA KELLY, SARAH COOK | SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Why We Give the Lady a Hard Time

An open letter to the critics of our criticism.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

Bahrain: We Take Human Rights Violations Seriously

Manama responds to Freedom House's report knocking the country's democratic transition.

BY FAHAD A. ALBINALI | SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

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

The Lady and the Tweet

Can there be an Aung San Suu Kyi in the Twitter era?

BY SUZANNE NOSSEL | SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Buddhism Problem

Why isn't Burma's democracy icon speaking up for minorities -- and against her country's nationalistic, racist, xenophobic, and occasionally violent Buddhist majority?

BY WILLIAM MCGOWAN | SEPTEMBER 17, 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

It's Time to Act in Syria

Yes, it's true: Military involvement in Syria has its risks. But the costs of non-intervention are growing by the day.

BY MARK N. KATZ | SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

Delhi Laughs

The heavy-handed political cartoons that have India's government hot under the collar.

SEPTEMBER 11, 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 Gang That Can't Shoot Straight

The Syrian National Council has failed to galvanize international support for the rebellion -- and it has only itself to blame.

BY MALIK AL-ABDEH | SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Bucking the Odds in North Korea

Why Kim Jong Un might just dare to be different.

BY JAY ULFELDER | SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Renewing America’s Fighting Faith

Barack Obama's correction to the excesses of the George W. Bush years was necessary. But cold-blooded realism is not enough to safeguard America's interests and promote its values.

BY WILL MARSHALL | 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