Criminal indictments for defamation have more than doubled in South Korea, chilling free speech and giving pause to critics of President Park Geun-hye and her party.
South Korea’s Free Speech Problem
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Democracy & Governance
Drone strikes in Pakistan: Reapers of Their Own Destruction
The 10-year drone-war killing spree has unleashed the seeds of its own destruction: a nonviolent resistance movement.
Economics by Other Means: War, Poverty, and Conflict Minerals in Africa
With support from Moscow, Washington, and the former imperial capitals no longer assured, armed groups in Africa now compete for riches in diamond mines, gold pits, oil wells, and rare earth deposits.
Somalia’s Failure: A Broken System or Lousy Leaders?
Somalia’s power-sharing system has failed.
Burma’s Promise: President Thein Sein’s 11 Commitments to Obama
Democratic and political reforms in Burma have been uneven and halting.
Nepal Goes to the Polls
Nepal, a strategically located country on the southern flank of the central Himalayas between India and China, has finally caught election fever.
In a Changing Middle East, Israel and Saudi Arabia Cling Together
As unrest simmers in the Middle East and the United States edges toward detente with Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia are trying to ride out the storm together.
NSA Surveillance’s Cost-Benefit Ratio
Massive data collection by the NSA comes down much heavier on the cost side of the ledger than the benefit.
Branding Japan
Shinzo Abe is back as prime minister, along with his special brand of Abenomics and a whole new politics of hype.
Mistaking Omniscience for Omnipotence
No one knows what a major state would be like if it radically cut back its intelligence services–but based on the recent American record, it’s hard to imagine we could be anything but better off.