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Introduction
A wave of democratization reshaped the world not so long ago. Could it happen again now?
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A wave of democratization reshaped the world not so long ago. Could it happen again now?
As dictatorships crumble across the Middle East, how do we promote American values while protecting American interests?
Just after the streets of Tunisia and Egypt erupted, China saw a series of “Jasmine” protests — until the government stopped them cold. Was the regime’s defensive reaction just paranoia? Or is the Chinese public less satisfied — and more combustible — than it appears?
Can democracy take root in a predominantly Islamic part of the world? How Atlantic writers thought about the question throughout the 20th century.
A renowned scholar of Near Eastern studies, took on the question of Islam's suitability for democratic rule
The global triumph of democracy was to be the glorious climax of the American Century. But democracy may not be the system that will best serve the world—or even the one that will prevail in places that now consider themselves bastions of freedom.
At a time when countries in Eastern Europe and elsewhere were demanding the right to self-determination, Raymond D. Gastil assessed the extent to which civil liberties within a democracy require protection within a democracy
In the midst of World War II, the wife of China's Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, decried the exploitation of China by the West and delineated a vision for a more democratic future
This Chinese author proudly declared "we have transformed our immense country from an empire of four thousand years' standing into a modern democracy" asking that the United States lend its support to the fledgling government through official recognition
The exclusive inside story of the planning for a dissident blogger's getaway from the repressive island kingdom |
AP
After weeks of violent clashes, a Turkish artist tries a motionless form of resistance -- and starts a movement.
The new president is technically a "moderate," but in Iran, that doesn't mean much.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
But the university's aggressive expansion in China and elsewhere raises important questions.
Sulome Anderson
The Taksim protests have brought together middle-class youth with another, longer-simmering conflict in one of Istanbul's Alevi neighborhoods.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Doing so may be the key to future Sino-American relations, but the risks of exacerbating tensions remain. The latest in a series of conversations with ChinaFile.
Reuters
In the lead-up to the elections, some activists are fighting U.S. sanctions, even as they push for reform in their former homelands.
Reuters
The convoluted system in which a supreme leader supervises the president, who in turn represents the people.
Shervin Malekzadeh
Signs of promise in the Islamic Republic, ahead of Friday's elections.
Reuters
People "receive special content that is undermining the authority of the state and the values of the established state," the deputy prime minister says.
Vincent Yu/AP
Edward Snowden's decision to flee to the territory puts a spotlight on its growing discomfort with mainland Chinese meddling.
Kambiz Hosseini
The tragic comedy of the upcoming presidential election, as told by Kambiz Hosseini
Reuters
The rise and fall -- and possible rise again -- of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
YouTube
The country's ultra-conservative groups are cracking down on what they call "nude art."
G. David Campbell.
Some demonstrators want Erdogan to step down, some simply want the park to be left alone. Will the activists be able to find a common cause?
Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Erdogan has been pushing for an end to alcohol, kissing and other hallmarks of secularization, with disastrous results.
Murad Sezer/Reuters
What started as a tree protest is revolutionizing Turkish democracy.
Kin Cheung/AP
24 years after the government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters seemed to signal its doom, the Chinese Communist Party survives. But can it put off political reforms forever?
Sina Weibo
Government fear of public activism goes beyond just politics.
Reuters
What was held up as a modern, Muslim nation now seems chaotic and oppressive.
Reuters
What started as a park preservation sit-in has devolved into protests that reveal broader dissatisfaction with Erdogan's government.
A Whole-Sky Time-Lapse of the Galactic Center
Every NASA Space Shuttle Launch
The Marshmallow Experiment
James Fallows on Jerry Brown's second chance. Plus: the mystery of the second skeleton, how gay couples are getting marriage right, the end of the retail salesperson, and more.
