Joshua Kurlantzick reviews King Bhumibhol Adulyadej: A Life's Work and examines how, in Thailand and elsewhere, royal reverence has hampered democracy.

The September 11 killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans during an attack by an angry mob on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi has concentrated the world's attention on the problems of post-Qaddafi Libya.

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

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."

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.

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.

Joshua Kurlantzick says that after five decades of brutal military rule, Myanmar has been slowly shifting in the direction of legitimate democratic governance, but many serious obstacles still have to be overcome.

The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve parliament has "thrown Egypt into turmoil once again," threatening the upcoming presidential election runoff and the hopes of the country's sixteen-month-old revolution, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

Joshua Kurlantzick says, "... Thailand, once a poster child for democratization in the developing world, has undergone perhaps the most rapid and severest democratic regression in the entire world."

This Pew Research Center publication reports that "Egyptians remain optimistic" and "embrace democracy and religion in political life," and are generally positive toward the Muslim Brotherhood and military.

Robert McMahon says that after breathtaking expansion of their freedoms, the media now reflect the unsteady advance of democracy in the Middle East.

Elliott Abrams says the Egyptian presidential race is a frightful mess.

The Arab League summit in Baghdad is focused on Syria, but events on the ground appear to have already outpaced the regional group, says CFR's Mohamad Bazzi.

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

China faces growing internal and external calls for economic and political reforms. Expert Minxin Pei looks at the political transition under way and discusses prospects for change.

Steven A. Cook says that to avoid the traps of their history, Egyptians must be committed to a new constitution and an independent parliament.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times writes that the U.S. Constitution no longer acts as the model for modern states. He cites the consitution's conservative interpretation and relatively few secured rights in making it a poor model in light of newer constitutions that reflect modern values and contexts.