Opposition party leader, Mikhail Kasyanov, discusses the challenges Russia faces with the current regime, as well as the need for democratic reform.

Nikolas Gvosdev and Derek S. Reveron, professors of national security affairs at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, discuss the importance of nation building and its significance in the context of U.S. national security.

Speaker: Moses Wetang'ula, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Republic of Kenya, Madeleine K. Albright, Chair, Albright Stonebridge Group; Former U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses the advances made by Afghan women.

Following a recent trip to Cuba, Julia Sweig, Senior Fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Jeffrey Goldberg, National Correspondent for The Atlantic Magazine, address questions from listeners.

David Brooks writes that progress on Iraq's economic growth, basic security, and political and legal institutions shows U.S. nation building efforts in Iraq have worked.

A railroad through the southern Caucasus will soon connect Europe and Asia, fueling dreams and discord in the region.

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

Iraq's new parliament convened Monday, but bargaining on a coalition government continues. The United States can facilitate, but not push, the outcome, says CFR's Brett McGurk.

Colombian presidential candidate Antanas Mockus has generated surprising support for his campaign of transparency and change, but the winner will need to reassure voters that security improvements will continue, says expert Cynthia Arnson.

Max Boot argues that Kurdish success in Iraq suggests what Iraq can become in a few years.