A thought-provoking study of democratization proposing that the spate of retreating democracies, one after another over the past two decades, is not just a series of exceptions.

On the eve of President Obama's historic trip to Myanmar, Joshua Kurlantzick argues that the economic and political changes underway in that country—though substantial—may not be as secure as many Burmese reformers and outside observers think.

ASEAN is the most significant multilateral institution in Asia but is unequipped to handle the region's most pressing economic and security challenges. CFR Fellow Joshua Kurlantzick makes recommendations for how ASEAN can bolster its capacity—and how the United States can help.

Joshua Kurlantzick explores the roots of the insurgency in Thailand's deep south, prospects for a settlement, and why this deadly conflict remains largely ignored by the international media.

Joshua Kurlantzick says Peter Popham's The Lady and the Peacock is the most thorough and, in some ways, the most critical biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now making the transition from longtime opposition leader to member of parliament and leading ally of the Myanmar president.

ASEAN has failed to ease tensions over the South China Sea this summer, but China and its neighbors still have options for restoring calm, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Joshua Kurlantzick examines the southern Thai conflict and the reasons why it has been so ignored, both in Thailand and in the international community.

The steady U.S. presence at Asian meetings--like the upcoming ASEAN ministerial--reinforces its ties to countries in China's shadow, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Joshua Kurlantzick argues that state capitalism can be conducive to innovation.

Joshua Kurlantzick says that after five decades of brutal military rule, Myanmar has been slowly shifting in the direction of legitimate democratic governance, but many serious obstacles still have to be overcome.

Joshua Kurlantzick discusses current sectarian violence between the Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in western Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Joshua Kurlantzick says, "... Thailand, once a poster child for democratization in the developing world, has undergone perhaps the most rapid and severest democratic regression in the entire world."

Joshua Kurlantzick reviews William Dobson's The Dictator's Learning Curve.

Joshua Kurlantzick warns that while investors may look on Burma as a potential emerging market, they should be aware that Burma has experienced periods of short-lived openness before.

Joshua Kurlantzick and Elizabeth Leader discuss how the newest threats to expression and access on the Internet are not coming from authoritarian states, but instead from somewhere more surprising: electoral democracies like Thailand, Turkey, and South Korea.

Joshua Kurlantzick says that even though its by-elections were relatively free and fair, Burma remains a long way from a truly democratic culture of elections.

The elections brought democratic forces into parliament for the first time in fifty years. But Myanmar's rapid reforms still must be viewed as small steps in a country where military forces retain considerable power, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Joshua Kurlantzick explores the challenges of Myanmar's business environment.

Myanmar's sudden transition from repressive pariah to potential democracy should be viewed through the lens of a military alarmed by people power revolts and by the country's increasingly shaky economic condition, says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Joshua Kurlantzick says that despite the hopes raised by the Arab Spring, democracy is actually in retreat around the world, but there is a way to revive it.

Joshua Kurlantzick reviews The River of Lost Footsteps and Where China Meets India by Thant Myint-U.