Activist and advocate Chen Guangcheng discusses his personal journey, human rights, and the rule of law in China.

The weekend massacre near Houla that has galvanized international outrage may spark a stronger Russian stand against the Assad regime, says Syria expert Mona Yacoubian.

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."

Benjamin Netanyahu's agreement with the Kadima Party reflects a public more concerned about economic and social issues than whether to strike Iran, says CFR's Robert M. Danin.

Victoria Taylor discusses Tunisians' attempts to reconcile the role of religion in what had been a staunchly secular society.

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

Ed Husain discusses his recent meetings with the royal family and oppositionists in Bahrain.

Isobel Coleman says the Egyptian elections are a roller coaster, and what the role of Islam will be in a new Egypt is uncertain.

Richard N. Haass says that seemingly different nations with elections and political transitions in the coming months possess common internal challenges–a loss of economic and physical autonomy, the diffusion of information technology, and slower growth against a backdrop of larger and older populations–that will make more difficult the task of generating global consensus on how to meet threats beyond borders.

Joshua Kurlantzick warns that while investors may look on Burma as a potential emerging market, they should be aware that Burma has experienced periods of short-lived openness before.

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

Ray Takeyh says that for now the Islamic Republic endures, but beneath the facade of order and stability the clerical state continues to face a deep crisis of legitimacy.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says a battle is on to keep Afghan women from falling off the political agenda while Washington and its NATO allies seek a diplomatic solution to America's longest-ever war, and the fight becomes more urgent as the NATO summit in Chicago approaches.

Isobel Coleman, Ed Husain, and Michael Willis discuss the relationship between Islam and politics following the Arab uprisings, including how Islam affects women's and minority rights, democracy, and secularism.

This session was part of a CFR symposium, Implications of the Arab Uprisings, which was made possible by the generous support of Rita E. Hauser, and organized in cooperation with University of Oxford's St. Antony's College.

Ed Husain says former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan deserves applause for brokering a ceasefire in a conflict where others have failed, but the conflict in Syria is far from over, and this is only a new beginning.

Jerome A. Cohen discusses Bo Xilai, criminal justice, and China's leadership.

The government of the brittle, one-party state remains dug in against a determined but fractured opposition. Expert Joshua Landis discusses the fault lines in the Syria uprising.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that any peace agreement in Afghanistan that leaves out Afghan women will simply be a short-term deal, not a durable peace.

Elliott Abrams says the politicizing of intelligence on Syria is part of the Obama administration's continuing defense of its failure to help the Syrian opposition and is a misuse of the intelligence community.

John Campbell says that as oil-rich Nigeria continues to suffer from decades-long dysfunctional governance and tensions between the Christian South and the Muslim North are rising, Nigeria is in need of creative American diplomacy.