Democracy and Human Rights

Must Read

FT: Bashar al-Assad: Behind the Mask

Author: Roula Khalaf

He was an unpromising youth who gained power by accident. Today he's the Arab world's most notorious dictator. But who really is this man? The Financial Times' Roula Khalaf profiles Bashar al-Assad.

See more in Syria, Human Rights

Audio

ICT for Development: Combating Corruption and Increasing Government Accountability (Audio)

Speaker: Boris Weber
Presider: Isobel Coleman

CFR Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman speaks with Boris Weber, director of ICT4Gov at the World Bank Institute, on how technology is being leveraged to promote good governance and increased transparency in fragile states and emerging markets.

This was a meeting of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Roundtable series.

See more in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, South America, Civil Society, Economic Development, Telecommunications

Op-Ed

Crunch Time

Author: Jerome A. Cohen
South China Morning Post

Jerome A. Cohen asks, "As China's Communist Party elite prepare to select the country's leadership for the coming decade, to what extent does concern for the rule of law affect their deliberations?"

See more in China, Elections, Rule of Law

Other Report

Advancing Human Rights in the UN System

Author: Suzanne Nossel

In this Working Paper, Suzanne Nossel, former deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations from August 2009 to November 2011, discusses how U.S. engagement with the UN Human Rights Council has acted to improve the body and offers recommendations for sustaining and building upon this positive momentum.

See more in Human Rights, UN