"Bringing down Morsi has consequences far beyond Egypt," writes Ed Husain.

Interreligious cooperation is central to facilitating transitional justice and reconciliation in Syria, says expert Daniel Philpott.

"Left unchecked, rising ethnic hatred and increasing attacks could push the country into a terrible period of ethnic cleansing," writes Joshua Kurlantzick about the continuing ethnic violence against Muslims in Myanmar.

Stewart Patrick reviews new books America and the Rogue States, by Thomas H. Henriksen and Outlier States: American Strategies to Change, Contain, or Engage Regimes, by Robert S. Litwak.

To stop Syria's meltdown and contain its mushrooming threats, the United States should launch a partial military intervention aimed at pushing all sides to the negotiating table.

"While the United States may want to shed its Afghanistan obligations -- including its commitment to supporting the Afghan economy -- those who care about Afghanistan's security, and America's, will want to make certain the green shoots get tended," writes Gayle Tzemach-Lemmon

As countries from Libya to Tunisia to Myanmar navigate complex paths to democracy, a new CFR book offers insights and recommendations from political and economic transitions that have unfolded in recent decades. "By understanding the trade-offs and critical economic and policy decisions that transitioning countries have faced in the past, policymakers can make smarter choices to improve the chances of successful democratization in states undergoing transitions today," write Isobel Coleman, CFR senior fellow and director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative, and Terra Lawson-Remer, CFR fellow, in Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions.

John Campbell, Isobel Coleman, and Terra Lawson-Remer discuss their new Council on Foreign Relations book, Pathways to Freedom, which offers an authoritative and accessible look at what countries must do to build durable and prosperous democracies—and what the United States and others can do to help.

The Balkans region in southern Europe has been unsettled since the dismantling of Ottoman dominance there in the late nineteenth century. During the twentieth century, ethnic and sectarian tensions not infrequently brought war to the region, most recently during the 1990s amid the breakup of Yugoslavia. The United States played a significant role in bringing peace to Bosnia in 1995 and to Kosovo in 1999, but the region faces continued instability.

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With concise historical analysis and forward-looking prescriptions, Pathways to Freedom offers an authoritative and accessible look at what countries must do to build durable and prosperous democracies—and what the United States and others can do to help.

Isobel Coleman and Terra Lawson-Remer share seven lessons from their new book, Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions.

John Campbell examines escalating violence in Nigeria.

Gayle Lemmon discusses the multiple options which members of the Obama administration are weighing regarding U.S. intervention in the ongoing Syrian conflict.

The U.S. military can learn from West Point about how to approach sexual misconduct cases, writes Jeanne Hull.

Global support for the "responsibility to protect" doctrine weakened after the UN-endorsed no-fly zone that helped topple Libya's regime, and debate continues over the threshold for mounting armed humanitarian interventions, explains this Backgrounder.

Ambassador Mark P. Lagon's testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee of Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations discussed the rankings of individual states in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report released by the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP office). Ambassador Lagon called on the advice of experts in the TIP office to be heeded and the report be reflective of the situation on the ground rather than be politically expedient.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) Katrina Lantos Swett and Elizabeth K. Cassidy discuss USCIRF's 2013 Annual Report, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

According to Micah Zenko, "We are deluding ourselves if we believe that we need more time to "think through" U.S. military intervention options for Syria. We have an excellent understanding of what those options are, and a vast majority of officials, policymakers, and the American people do not believe they are worth the effort."

U.S. policymaking on human rights issues is sometimes hindered by poor relations between State and Capitol Hill. Fortunately, there are ways to improve cooperation.

Isobel Coleman hosts Shannon O'Neil for a discussion about the political and economic transition of Mexico and Brazil as part of a Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative series on Realizing Democracy: Lessons from Transitioning Countries.