Isobel Coleman and Terra Lawson-Remer share seven lessons from their new book, Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions.

Ray Takeyh weighs the prospects for change in Iran under the newly elected President Hassan Rowhani.

The U.S. military can learn from West Point about how to approach sexual misconduct cases, writes Jeanne Hull.

Global support for the "responsibility to protect" doctrine weakened after the UN-endorsed no-fly zone that helped topple Libya's regime, and debate continues over the threshold for mounting armed humanitarian interventions, explains this Backgrounder.

A conservative candidate seems likely to win Iran's presidential election this week, but the reform movement may yet be energized by the remaining moderate contender, says CFR's Ray Takeyh.

Are Iran's presidential elections too tightly controlled, or will they offer an opportunity for reformist voices to emerge? This Issue Guide traces the campaign and essential background.

Robert Mugabe, age eighty-nine and in failing health, has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980. Zimbabwe faces numerous potential scenarios once he dies or, highly unlikely, if he is defeated in the upcoming summer elections.

Read full answer

Ambassador Mark P. Lagon's testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee of Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations discussed the rankings of individual states in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report released by the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP office). Ambassador Lagon called on the advice of experts in the TIP office to be heeded and the report be reflective of the situation on the ground rather than be politically expedient.

Syria has been mired in deadly strife since March 2011 and the outlook for resolving what is now a full blown civil war looks increasingly dire. The worst case outcome for Syria is one whereby the country fragments and becomes a failed state in which the Damascus government no longer controls its own territory. Under such a scenario, the glue holding the country together comes unstuck.

Read full answer

Ed Husain advises the United States to support the Turkish government in response to recent protests in Istanbul.

Ray Takeyh asks, "after nearly a decade of delusory diplomacy, it may be time to ask: What if Iran's supreme leader actually means what he says?"

Steven A. Cook, CFR Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, and Henri Barkey, Cohen Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University, discuss the protests in Turkey and how they will affect Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule.

U.S. policymaking on human rights issues is sometimes hindered by poor relations between State and Capitol Hill. Fortunately, there are ways to improve cooperation.

Isobel Coleman hosts Shannon O'Neil for a discussion about the political and economic transition of Mexico and Brazil as part of a Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative series on Realizing Democracy: Lessons from Transitioning Countries.

Steven Cook and Michael Koplow examine recent developments in Istanbul.

As measured by life outcomes, India does not value the lives of its sons as highly as it values the lives of its daughters. Moreover, it allows sexual violence to go unpunished and its victims undefended, whether on the city streets, in villages, in police stations, or in the courts. A powerful impetus for change exists in India, but the challenge of closing the gap between calls for reform and true long-term change looms large.

After the disqualification of popular former president Rafsanjani, it's unclear which of the remaining, mostly conservative candidates will triumph in the June presidential election, says expert Farideh Farhi.

If "democracy" is achieved when governments rule by consent through free and fair elections, then some of the world's largest Muslim nations are democratic: Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Turkey

Read full answer

Global monitors say Iran's human rights situation is poor and unlikely to improve amid a climate of political uncertainty and growing external pressures. But activists urge continued international scrutiny of Iran's violations.