"Criminal justice has been the weakest link of China's legal system, which, despite constitutional and legislative protections of the right to defence, has in practice rarely allowed defendants adequate opportunity to question prosecution witnesses and rebut their claims," writes Jerome A. Cohen, with respect to Bo Xilai's trial.

"The liberals and revolutionaries who are now dancing in the streets must not rest on their laurels, but must begin agitating for a sustained national dialogue to reinterpret the proper role of the armed forces in the life of the country," writes Steven Cook.

Reza Aslan writes about the evolving political changes in Egypt.

Yingluck Shinawatra was elected prime minister of Thailand in July 2011. She has so far achieved the most important thing in Thailand today, which is preserving a fragile peace between different interest groups and political sides.

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Three leaders from the region discuss these issues as part of a delegation from Karama, an Egyptian based women's rights organization.

In the third of three excerpts from his new book, Democracy in Retreat, Joshua Kurlantzick says that emerging powers like India, Brazil and South Africa were supposed to be democracy's greatest proponents, but that it hasn't worked out that way at all.

In this excerpt from his forthcoming book, Democracy in Retreat, Joshua Kurlantzick argues that voting is losing its cachet in the developing world and in the West.

In an excerpt from his new book, Democracy in Retreat, Joshua Kurlantzick argues democracy cannot flourish unless the middle class embraces it, warts and all.

Jerome A. Cohen says, "Beijing's pending prosecution of deposed Politburo member Bo Xilai and the recent murder conviction of his wife, Gu Kailai , have again brought China's criminal justice system to world attention."

Elizabeth C. Economy says corruption and the failure to develop rule of law in China now define much of the country's political and economic life. With Xi Jinping poised to take over, the focus should be on significant political reform.

Jerome A. Cohen says that while Bo Xilai and Chen Kegui "hail from opposite ends of China's political, economic and social hierarchies, they now have much in common, including the determination of the authorities to punish them for political reasons."

Weak rule of law in the developing world deprives countless people of legal rights and economic opportunity. Bridging the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, a global trust could build developing nations' capacity to implement the rule of law, improving human rights and economic outcomes at little cost.

Jerome A. Cohen and Yu-Jie Chen argue that legal safeguards remain inadequate for Taiwanese suspected of a crime on the mainland despite hopes of reform to allow greater security for detainees

Jerome A. Cohen says China's unfair criminal justice system makes a harsh sentence all but certain for Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai who is charged with murdering a British businessman.

Jerome A. Cohen argues that by systematically undermining an accused person's right to effective counsel, as and when it is deemed necessary, China is only harming its own efforts to win foreign admirers.

Iraq is hardly the failed state that Ned Parker portrayed in these pages, argues Antony Blinken, the U.S. vice president's national security adviser. Norman Ricklefs sees Iraq's politics becoming more moderate and less sectarian. Parker replies that despite these improvements, Baghdad still violates human rights and ignores the rule of law.

Jerome A. Cohen asks, "As China's Communist Party elite prepare to select the country's leadership for the coming decade, to what extent does concern for the rule of law affect their deliberations?"

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

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

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