Essays

How President Obama can get peacemaking back on track Read More

Why the Arab street finally revolted Read More

An American perspective Read More

A call for education reformRead More

The geopolitical contest for the region’s hearts and minds Read More

The pandemic is not out of the danger zone, but apocalyptic predictions about the collapse of armies, state crises, and a vicious interaction between HIV/AIDS and violent conflict -- especially in Africa -- have not come to pass. Careful analysis gives far less cause for pessimism than many imagined would be possible even half a decade ago.Read More

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvaa made the region a foreign policy focus in pursuit of greater South-South cooperation. An insider’s look at how the Brasília sees Arab democratization, Arab-Israeli peace, the nuclear standoff with Iran and trade and investment promotion.Read More

The results of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun proved once again that nations are not serious about addressing the danger posed by global warming. Non-stop consultations between developed and developing countries must achieve tangible and effective compromises before the follow-up conference in Durban in November.Read More

The big-power competition in Central Asia is not quite what it seems. More intriguing is how the region’s governments play the U.S., China and Russia off one another for political and economic gain.Read More

What the world must learn from one of our greatest leaders Read More

How the rise of developing economies–exemplified by BRICS– is changing the old way of doing business Read More

The microblogging service has become the digital tool of choice for political and social activists. But more important than Twitter’s protest-friendly architecture is the commitment of company executives to uncensored expression.Read More

There is no doubt that social networking helped bring Egyptians to Tahrir Square for the country’s January 25 revolution. But, equally important, services like Facebook and Twitter also prepared the ground by providing a model of horizontal communication and democratic participation.Read More

The effort to hold the former regime of President Hosni Mubarak to account is off to a poor start. But as the experiences of other nations in transition have shown, establishing a credible record of past abuses is essential to forming a democratic culture.Read More

Turkey has adopted a pro-active foreign policy in support of democracy in the Middle East. Together with a democratic and economically strong Egypt, Turkey can help Arab countries forge an integrated regional order.Read More

The militant Lebanese Shia group believes that the psychological makeup of individual fighters, rather than their weapons, is the key to their battlefield triumphs. An inside glimpse at how the Iranian-backed party sustains its war against Israel.Read More