This publication is now archived. A Condensed HistorySomalia was created in 1960 by the merger of British Somaliland Protectorate and the colony of Italian Somaliland. The United Republic of Somalia …

The crisis following Iran’s presidential vote cast a new light on the country’s hotly contested media space. A crackdown has limited independent reporting but other sources remain as channels for dis…

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is under increasing pressure from NATO and the United States to clamp down on Taliban militants, but internal resistance from Pakistani Islamists is preventing hi…

Pakistan is bracing for more turbulence in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s killing. This Backgrounder looks at how state support for Islamist militants has led to growing religious intolerance in socie…

A group of Islamist courts have seized power across much of Somalia. Many outside observers are anxiously watching—and interfering—as the power struggle plays out between the Islamists and the offici…