CFR Senior Fellow Steven Cook assess the insecurity and unrest in Egypt as the country prepares for parliamentary elections in November. Cook, who was in Cairo when the revolt broke out, has recently authored The Struggle for Egypt—a new book providing one of the first historical analyses explaining the reasons behind the uprising.

Steven Radelet's accessible new book argues that much of the credit for Africa's recent economic boom goes to its increasingly open political systems.

Egypt's 2011 revolution marks the latest chapter in Egyptians' longtime struggle for greater democratic freedoms. In this video, Steven A. Cook, CFR's Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies and author of "The Struggle for Egypt", identifies the lessons that Egypt's emerging leadership must learn from the Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak regimes.

Joshua Kurlantzick explores Deng Xiaoping's legacy in his review of Ezra Vogel's Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China and Henry Kissinger's On China.

No state with serious oil wealth has ever transformed into a democracy.

The assassination of Afghan government negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani signals the challenges in any reconciliation talks with the Taliban and could exacerbate ethnic divisions, pushing the country into a civil war.

As rebels try to strengthen their hold on Tripoli, the odds of a peaceful, democratic transfer of power in Libya are long and the need for ongoing international intervention is very likely, says CFR's Robert Danin.

The recent flare up of hostilities along the Israel-Egypt border signals a hardening of Egypt's stance toward Israel and further difficulties for the sluggish Mideast peace process, says expert David Makovsky.

U.S. calls for Syria's Assad to step down can only be realized if combined with stronger measures to forge a diplomatic coalition and drive a wedge between Assad and his supporters, says CFR's Robert Danin.

The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has sparked a debate in Egypt about retributive justice versus the rule of law, which will be among the many issues to play out in the fall's parliamentary elections, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

Joshua Kurlantzick says the election victory by the party of Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, puts Thailand's already wobbly democracy at greater risk.

Joel D. Hirst says the Kingdom of Morocco has emerged from the Arab Spring as a model of Arab governance.

In a post at the New Statesman, Matthew Partridge asserts that income inequality and institutional elite favoritism played a central role in inciting the protests of the Arab Spring.

With Israel facing a regional democratization movement, a unity pact between Hamas and Fatah, and a possible UN vote on Palestinian statehood in the fall, Prime Minister Netanyahu should offer a swap of territory in return for Palestinian acceptance of a Jewish state, says Israel expert David Makovsky.

Maciej Bartkowski and Annyssa Bellal write that the international community needs a more comprehensive set of guidelines to keep governments accountable for violence conducted against demonstrating citizens.

Human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi discusses the impact of the Arab Spring on the democratic movement in Iran with Isobel Coleman, Director of the Council on Foreign Relations' Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative.

As some NATO countries move to send advisers to help Libyan rebels, debate remains unsettled on whether charting a path to greater military involvement or a negotiated political solution is the right approach.

CFR's Adjunct Senior Fellow For Middle Eastern Studies, Mohamad Bazzi discusses the current crisis in Syria and its possible consequences.

Listen to CFR Expert Mohamad Bazzi and Consulting Editor Bernard Gwertzman discuss violent anti-government protests and rising tensions in Syria.

CFR senior fellows Jendayi Frazer and John Campbell discuss the implications regarding the recent capture of former Ivorian President Gbagbo.