Weak rule of law in the developing world deprives countless people of legal rights and economic opportunity. Bridging the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, a global trust could build developing nations' capacity to implement the rule of law, improving human rights and economic outcomes at little cost.

In this Markets and Democracy Brief, CFR's Mark Lagon argues for a more consistent approach to human rights promotion than the United States has often pursued in the past.

Mark Lagon argues that President Obama's approach to foreign affairs suggests that
 while the president may be for “soft power,” he is not so sure about America's moral authority to project it.

The UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was passed on March 28, 2013, and seeks to regulate and limit trade in arms in circumstances of human rights violations. Unfortunately, it will have minimal effect on the Syrian conflict. Syria's own vote against the treaty, along with Iran's and North Korea's, sounded the death knell for a universally applicable treaty to limit small arms, ammunition, and conventional weapons technology.

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Arch Puddington presents Freedom House's "Freedom in the World 2013" report, followed by a discussion between Tamara Wittes and Larry Diamond. They discuss the text of the report, as well as the differences between democratic indicators within nations, regional trends, and the normative importance of the "Arab Spring."

"Principled compromise, prioritizing China, compassion, democracy-support, addressing detainee and drone policy as blemishes on our brand, and re-balancing soft and hard power tools ought to be touchstones of a post-2012 GOP foreign policy," says Mark P. Lagon.

Weak rule of law in the developing world deprives countless people of legal rights and economic opportunity. Bridging the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, a global trust could build developing nations' capacity to implement the rule of law, improving human rights and economic outcomes at little cost.

Mark P. Lagon and William F. Schulz take a closer look at how liberals and conservatives understand and advance human rights and lay out options for creating a more unified human rights movement focused on resilience and creative policies rather than dogmatism.

In this Markets and Democracy Brief, CFR's Mark Lagon argues for a more consistent approach to human rights promotion than the United States has often pursued in the past.

Mark Lagon argues that President Obama's approach to foreign affairs suggests that
 while the president may be for “soft power,” he is not so sure about America's moral authority to project it.

Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations, discusses democracy promotion in the Middle East following the Arab Spring with Mark Lagon, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Human Rights at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In this Markets and Democracy Brief, Mark Lagon examines the uneven history of promoting democracy in U.S. foreign policy and offers lessons for how the United States can best advance democracy today.

Events in Egypt highlight the need for the U.S. government to drop double standards on governance and human rights issues when dealing with friendly dictatorships, writes CFR's Mark Lagon.

Empty chairs at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for China's Liu Xiaobo and a top UN diplomat demonstrate China's power and influence, along with its vulnerability on human rights issues, says CFR's Mark Lagon.

Mark Lagon testifies before the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on human trafficking. He offers recommendations on four areas for action by the United States.