A fascinating first-person account by veteran journalist and media trainer Carolyn Robinson chronicles her experiences training broadcast journalists in Libya after the  death of leader Moammar Qaddafi. Robinson outlines some of the challenges she faced in managing two USAID/OTI grants for Internews in the early days …

The Obama administration should be more assertive steps to in?uence the outcome of Arab Spring transitions, engage more broadly than government-to-government relations with a diverse set of actors, and employ leverage and incentives to affect the behavior of key actors, …

Libya was one of the few democratic success stories of 2012, according to the latest Freedom in the World survey from Freedom House, the US-based rights watchdog.

“Having ranked among the world’s worst tyrannies for decades, the country scored major …

Newly emerging popular movements for reform were the driving force behind the Middle East’s major gains in democratic rights last year, according to Freedom in the World 2013, Freedom House’s annual report. But other regions experienced setbacks due to …

The uprisings across the Arab world have not only empowered illiberal actors, but may also undermine vital security interests, writes a prominent analyst.

“The uprisings of the last two years have represented a significant challenge to authoritarian rule in …

The Arab awakening is having the perverse effect of empowering some of the region’s most illiberal and anti-democratic forces, says a prominent observer.

“However much the west wants Arab societies to produce leaders with whom its feels comfortable, the turmoil …

A leading Syrian opposition group has “broadened its ranks to accommodate more activists and political groups from inside the country,” AP reports, “in an apparent nod to international demands for a more representative and cohesive leadership.”

U.S.-based Syrian academic …

Current developments in Syria and the absence of meaningful Western intervention are indicative of an emerging new foreign policy doctrine, says a leading analyst – “a doctrine in which the United States does not take primary responsibility for events, …

Libyan security forces today blockaded an Islamist militia suspected of killing US ambassador Chris Stevens.

But the government’s action is unlikely to ease fears that the current cabinet crisis is creating a power vacuum which has left observers speculating …

The United States will defend and promote democratic liberties – including freedom of expression – even though democracy is “hard work” and despite recent setbacks, President Barack Obama today told the United Nations General Assembly.

“We have taken these …