Mexico has long been hostage to unchallengeable traditions: its nationalist approach to oil wealth, overly sensitive attitude toward sovereignty, entrenched labor monopolies, persistent corruption, and self-serving bureaucracy.

Stephen Hadley and John Podesta accurately describe Washington's policy dilemmas and preferred outcomes in Afghanistan ("The Right Way Out of Afghanistan," July/August 2012).

Jerome A. Cohen says that while Bo Xilai and Chen Kegui "hail from opposite ends of China's political, economic and social hierarchies, they now have much in common, including the determination of the authorities to punish them for political reasons."

Isobel Coleman writes that despite persistent challenges to security and unity, Libya has weathered the year since Qaddafi's death better than many expected.

The presidential candidates generally agree on support for democracy and human rights in Arab states, but have differed on several policy particulars, such as military intervention in Libya and Syria.

Reza Aslan says the question isn't whether Islam promotes democracy, but rather do Muslims promote democracy, remarking that there are some who do and some who don't, as is the case with followers of every religious tradition on earth."

The U.S. Agency for International Development released its vision for action against child marriage in October 2012.

Syria's civil war, at its core a sectarian conflict, is viewed through the eyes of a fearful Alawite minority.

Isobel Coleman writes about the mixed record that quotas for women's political participation in the Middle East have had, but notes that at least quotas ensure that women's perspectives are represented in government.

A new Freedom House report highlights that a lack of substantive institutional reform, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, has left states struggling to maintain democratic achievements.

Ed Husain considers how recent protests in the Middle East reflect the challenges facing Arab societies in the aftermath of decades of authoritarian leadership.

In the wake of the deadly attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya, Bobby Ghosh writes that the newly-formed democratic governments which replaced long-standing dictatorships, as a result of the Arab Spring, has contributed to greater instability and a more chaotic and unstable Middle East.

Moscow's anti-Putin protesters have captured the world's attention. But does their message resonate outside the big cities?

As a referendum on Scotland's independence looms, the question of the region's place in the United Kingdom has become the most pressing issue in British politics.

Isobel Coleman and Ed Husain discuss the details surrounding the recent attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and how these attacks could alter U.S. diplomacy and future assistance.

This report explains the current situation of Libya's post-conflict transition, the challenges facing the interim Libyan leadership, and the current issues that Congress must debate.

This new report on diversity in America finds that almost all communities—whether large immigrant gateways or small towns in the nation's heartland—have grown more diverse.

In Venezuela's upcoming elections, President Hugo Chavez—suffering from poor health—faces his strongest challenger yet. Former ambassador Patrick D. Duddy argues that the United States should prepare for political unrest.

The growing likelihood of a protracted civil war in Syria does not necessarily warrant Western military intervention, which could "cause more damage, chaos, and instability than not," says Assad biographer David Lesch.

A history of targeted killings and the U.S. policy stance toward their use in military practices.