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."

Joshua Kurlantzick reviews William Dobson's The Dictator's Learning Curve.

Scott A. Snyder and See-won Byun observe that while the twenty-year anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea may provide a pretext for more active diplomacy to meet a growing list of potential disputes in the relationship, high-level contacts between China and North Korea have stalled, dampening China's hopes for regional engagement.

Jerome A. Cohen discusses conspiracy speculations surrounding the Chen Guangcheng case.

Jerome A. Cohen says diplomacy took Chen Guangcheng only so far.

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.

Adam Segal says that rather than just defacing websites, Anonymous should target five specific Chinese websites to obtain real secrets.

Jerome A. Cohen looks at various types of incommunicado detention in China, and discusses what Bo Xilai could face under "shuanggui," a widely feared internal disciplinary action that is outside the reach of Chinese law.

In his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Scott Snyder argues that the United States should redouble its efforts to shape North Korea's strategic environment rather than try to identify the right combination of carrots and sticks to be used in a negotiation with Pyongyang.

Joshua Kurlantzick and Elizabeth Leader discuss how the newest threats to expression and access on the Internet are not coming from authoritarian states, but instead from somewhere more surprising: electoral democracies like Thailand, Turkey, and South Korea.

Joshua Kurlantzick says that even though its by-elections were relatively free and fair, Burma remains a long way from a truly democratic culture of elections.

The elections brought democratic forces into parliament for the first time in fifty years. But Myanmar's rapid reforms still must be viewed as small steps in a country where military forces retain considerable power, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

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

One year after Japan's triple disasters, questions persist about the ability of the world's third-largest economy to rebound and how its struggling political system can mount serious reforms, writes CFR's Sheila Smith.

Sheila A. Smith discusses recovery and rebuilding one year after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

North Korea may be on the verge of a "transformative moment," which will require the time, attention, and resources of the winner of the U.S. presidential election, says CFR's Scott Snyder.

In March 2011, the U.S. computer security company RSA announced that hackers had gained access to security tokens it produces that let millions of government and private-sector employees, including those of defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, connect remotely to their office computers.

Jerome A. Cohen discusses the successes of the Shanghai Communique forty years later and says challenges lie ahead for political leaders to preserve both peace in East Asia and freedom for the people of Taiwan.