Politics

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

Mongolia's Growing Pains

Mongolia's blue skies may soon be darkening. A key challenge: Putting the mining companies in their place. 

BY PETER MURRELL | APRIL 5, 2013

The Ayatollah in His Labyrinth

The competing forces in Iran's political system are poised to collide in this summer's presidential election.

BY ABBAS MILANI | APRIL 4, 2013

The Map of Death

What North Korea's missiles are really aimed at.

BY JEFFREY LEWIS | APRIL 3, 2013

Left Hook

Five ways the GOP can outflank Obama on foreign policy.

BY JOHN NORRIS | APRIL 3, 2013

The L Word

In Washington, "leadership" is the disease, not the cure.

BY MICAH ZENKO | APRIL 2, 2013

Make Way for the Hybrids

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

BY MATT ANDREWS | APRIL 2, 2013

From Princeton to Persia

Meet the American who wants to be Ahmadinejad.

BY KATIE CELLA | APRIL 1, 2013

The Chechen Boss

Chechnya’s president is building power in Russia. And his thugs aren't listening to the FSB.

BY ANNA NEMTSOVA | APRIL 1, 2013

The Most Hated Man in the Senate

What's Ted Cruz's problem?

BY ERICA GRIEDER | MARCH 29, 2013

GAO Stands by Its F-35 Report

A response to Winslow Wheeler.

BY CHUCK YOUNG | MARCH 29, 2013

Losing the Senate

Carl Levin's retirement is the latest blow to a smart foreign policy.

BY NORM ORNSTEIN | MARCH 29, 2013

Fringe Following

What does Big Data tell us about white supremacists?

BY J.M. BERGER | MARCH 28, 2013

China’s Glass Ceiling

Sure, the Middle Kingdom is becoming a superpower, but it's always going to be No. 2.

BY GEOFF DYER | MARCH 28, 2013

Who's the Most Powerful Woman in the World?

Hint: It's not Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg. She lives in Berlin and is key to solving the euro crisis.

BY JEFFREY GEDMIN | MARCH 27, 2013

Wait, Did the System Just Work?

Congress performs oversight on drones -- and gets results.

BY AMY ZEGART | MARCH 27, 2013

Gay in the USSR

The forgotten history of gay cruising in Moscow.  

BY NORA FITZGERALD | MARCH 26, 2013

China’s Michelle Obama

Peng Liyuan is the first prominent Chinese first lady in decades. But does she matter?

BY PAUL FRENCH | MARCH 26, 2013

Springtime for Salafists

Rampaging Islamist vigilantes are cracking down on free expression -- and ruining Tunisia's Arab Spring.

BY DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS | MARCH 26, 2013

Think Again: North Korea

North Korea is a lot more dangerous than you think, but that doesn't mean that Kim Jong Un is insane.

BY DAVID KANG, VICTOR CHA | MARCH 25, 2013

Beggaring Thy Neighbors

Poorer countries no longer have rich ones to blame for inequalities in trade. Now they're the ones pulling the strings.

BY GREG RUSHFORD | MARCH 25, 2013

Demonstration Effect

Obama shows Netanyahu and Abbas -- and their people -- how it's done.

BY WARREN BASS | MARCH 22, 2013

The Long Shadow

Venezuela’s upcoming election features a young challenger against Hugo Chávez’s appointed successor -- who’s doing everything in his power to make the race about his dead boss.

BY PETER WILSON | MARCH 22, 2013

How the Catholic Church Lost Argentina

Was it the dirty war, the social conservatism, or both?

BY EMILY SCHMALL | MARCH 22, 2013

Can Yemen Talk Its Way to Peace?

As the country's National Dialogue kicks off this week, hope is in short supply.

BY FAREA AL-MUSLIMI, LAURA KASINOF | MARCH 22, 2013

A Drone of One's Own

Predators could be useful, but I've settled for a Roomba.

BY ROSA BROOKS | MARCH 21, 2013

Zero Problems in a New Era

Realpolitik is no answer to the challenges posed by the Arab Spring.

BY AHMET DAVUTOGLU | MARCH 21, 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

Policing Electoral Violence in India

How India's elections administration used “vulnerability mapping” to stop trouble before it happened.

BY MICHAEL SCHARFF | MARCH 21, 2013

Contingency Operations

Are the Pentagon and the GOP finally embracing defense cuts?

BY GORDON ADAMS | MARCH 21, 2013