Steven A. Cook says the Turkish model of military rule is wrong for Egypt.

When apartheid ended, the new regime in South Africa promised to redistribute land that whites had stolen from blacks.

In looking at the successful resolution of the political standoff in Côte d'Ivoire, most commentators have focused on the role of France and the UN.

Robert M. Danin argues that Hamas and Fatah have unified, but not yet reconcile.

Mubarak's ouster was the natural outgrowth of his regime's corruption and economic exclusion, the alienation of Egypt's youth, and divisions among the country's elites.

Many comparisons of India and Pakistan attribute India's democracy to Hinduism and Pakistan's autocracy to Islam.

The current Kenyan government has not solved the underlying problems of corruption and inequality, and ethnic resentments are likely to remain until Kenyans elect a clean and inclusive government.

Zimbabwe has been ruled by a unity government since 2008, but President Robert Mugabe and his party continue to usurp power and pillage the country's wealth.

On becoming president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych immediately took actions that undermined democracy and aligned Ukraine closely with Russia.

Can Louis XIV's consolidation of power in seventeenth-century France guide the way for state builders in Afghanistan today?

It is imperative that the human rights community build up political will and capacity among local law enforcement bodies.

U.S. President Barack Obama has vocally promoted a human rights agenda. Now, his administration must translate his rhetoric into practice.

Efforts to provide the world's women with economic and political power are more than just a worthy moral crusade: they represent perhaps the best strategy for pursuing development and stability across the globe.

After widespread civil unrest, Thailand remains deeply polarized, its economy is contracting, and its king is getting older. Whatever the outcome of the present crisis, the future of Thai democracy does not look good.

Democratic institutions cannot be set up easily; they are likely to emerge only when certain social and cultural conditions exist.

A league of democracies would not secure cooperation among democracies and would expose the limits of the West's power and legitimacy. The next president should not embrace this disastrous idea.

USAID has become ineffective because it is underfunded, understaffed, and losing influence. The next president should revive it by either making it autonomous or elevating it to a cabinet-level department.

A culture of fear has supplanted the traditional U.S. culture of hope. By returning to hope, the United States can regain the standing it has lost.

Washington can promote political reform best by backing off.

The U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay has become a stain on the United States' reputation. Shutting it down will cause new problems. Rather than hold terrorism suspects in preventive detention, the United States should turn them over to its criminal justice system.