Putting the Maldives back on the path toward democracy requires that the world begin to pay attention.

In the course of just a few weeks, Bangladesh's fragile democracy — which had made substantial social and economic progress in recent years — has deteriorated dramatically.

BRUSSELS — The price of freedom, it is said, is eternal vigilance. But that price can take the form of morally squalid decisions in which innocent people bear the brunt of the cost of freedom's defense. Under the cover of the Cold War, Western governments ...

STRASBOURG, France — After almost two decades as a failed state torn by civil war, perhaps the world should begin to admit that Somalia — as it is currently constructed — is beyond repair. Some of the country, however, can meet at least a basic ...

DHAKA — As fears about the Islamization of politics in the Muslim world grow, Bangladesh, with the world's fourth-largest Muslim population (126 million), has moved dramatically in the opposite direction. Bangladesh is usually heard about only when cyclones and tsunami ravage its low coastline, ...

BRUSSELS — The rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages who had been held for years by FARC guerrillas marks more than a turning point in Colombia's long war against its drug-running, Marxist guerrillas. It also confirms the emergence of a new troika ...

BRUSSELS — There is no more depressing sight in politics than a leader who, desperate to cling to power, ruins his country in the process. By his recent actions, President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine now looks like he has joined the long list of ...

BRUSSELS — Those who oppose Western rapprochement with Kazakhstan cite the country's lack of political and human rights. But, while Kazakhstan has not gone down the "color revolution" route to democracy that other post-Soviet republics like Ukraine and Georgia have followed, its timidity about ...

TBILISI — Look before you leap is as sound a principle in foreign policy as it is in life. Yet, once again, the Bush administration is preparing to leap into the unknown. Even though lack of foresight is universally viewed as a leading cause ...