Joseph Allchin explains why the war crimes trials under way in Bangladesh show why transitional justice and party politics don't mix.

Christian Caryl argues that treating democracy as an inevitable outcome may actually hurt the cause of democracy.

Nazila Fathi looks at how Iranian leaders are responding to the deepening economic crisis created by sanctions.

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Jakub Wisniewski gives the background to Poland's remarkable economic success story.

In our latest case study published in conjunction with Princeton's Innovations for Successful Societies, Laura Bacon and Rushda Majeed tell the story of a remarkable Sicilian mayor who decided to take back his city from the Mafia.

In this week's column, Christian Caryl explains the lingering scandal behind the story of Alexander Lukashenko, Europe's last dictator. Caryl also reports on the reasons why the U.S. government has decided to withhold its assent to the new UN telecommunications treaty that the Americans accuse of infringing on the freedom of the Internet.

Mohamed El Dahshan reports on the internal Muslim Brotherhood politics that are fueling the current unrest in Egypt. 

Adam Baron analyzes the problems that plague Yemen on the way to a planned national political dialogue.

Corey Brettschneider argues that the U.S. government should actively condemn hate speech as well as protecting the freedom of the word.

Endy Bayuni explores the reasons behind the current surge in union activism in Indonesia -- including the surprising willingness of local governments to support wage hikes.

Juan Nagel mulls over the continuing speculation about a successor to cancer-plagued Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.  

And now for this week's recommended reads:

The Project on Middle East Political Science offers a video conversation on the new Egyptian constitution with expert Nathan Brown.

At Jadailyya.com, Linda Herrera, Magdy Alabady, and Adel Iskandar analyze the political role of Mohamed El-Baradei in Egypt's current political unrest.

Writing for the Jamestown Foundation, Wladimir van Wilgenburg explains why fighting between Kurdish groups and Arab rebels helps Bashar al-Assad.

The website of the pro-democracy group Girifna offers an update on the latest protests in Sudan.

Democracy Digest offers two useful takes on the situation in Venezuela amid renewed reports that President Hugo Chavez is again struggling with cancer. One post speculates on the fate of chavismo without Chavez. The second brings together commentary on the state of the opposition as speculation about the possibility of a post-Chavez Venezuela revs up again.

Anne Applebaum, writing in The Washington Post, posits that corruption is becoming the new galvanizing issue for activists around the world.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty offers a breakdown on a Swedish documentary that tracks corruption linked with Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the dictator of Uzbekistan.

The Monkey Cage features a post in which an array of political scientists weigh in on the function of legislatures in authoritarian regimes:

A new report from the International Crisis Group explains why Muslim insurgents are gaining ground on the government of Thailand in the country's turbulent South.

A new U.N. report details illegal drug trends in Asia and the Pacific.

Transparency International's annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has become one of the most important barometers of good governance around the world.  There are a lot of interesting stories buried within the latest CPI, which has just been released. One of them involves the Balkans.

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For centuries, if a woman wanted to play a prominent public role in Albania's closed-off, conservative society, she had to chop off her hair, borrow a pair of baggy trousers, sport a gun, and forgo marriage, sex, or children. Ina Rama shattered that mold when she became the country's first female general prosecutor five years ago. A diminutive, attractive blonde with movie-star charisma, she's been an unlikely hero on the otherwise dismal world of Albanian politics.

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Writing from Libya, Christopher Stephen offers a forensic analysis of the Benghazi consulate attack.

Syrian dissident Ahed Al Hendi recalls what it was like growing up under the personality cult surrounding the Assads.

Christian Caryl examines little-noticed corners of the Arab world where the spirit of rebellion continues to smolder.

Jon Temin explains why Sudan's governance problems are too deep to be cured by concessions to breakaway regions.

Guest blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad casts a critical eye on Mideast potentates who are using blasphemy laws to silence critics.

Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez analyzes the factors influencing Venezuelans' decisions to emigrate after the Hugo Chávez victory in this month's presidential election.

Katrina Lantos Swett and Robert P. George make the case for keeping post-revolutionary constitutions in the Arab World free of blasphemy laws.

Jackee Batanda observes plans by the Ugandan security forces to crack down on the country's social media.

And Endy Bayuni writes about the political strategy behind Indonesia's creeping liberalization of laws on capital punishment.

And now for this week's recommended reads:

In a new paper from the Brookings Doha Center, Salman Shaikh proposes a path forward toward a solution to Syria's deepening crisis.

The Inter American Press Association warns of a rising threat to press freedom from authoritarian governments and violence across Latin America.

Democracy Digest analyzes a political assassination in Tunisia that could have a profound effect on the course of the revolution.

As talk grows of a possible military intervention in Mali, the Council on Foreign Relations offers a useful backgrounder on Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. (The photo above shows Tuareg fighters in northern Mali.)

The Duck of Minerva blog hosts an impassioned debate on the role of sexual violence in warfare, with Andrew Mack responding to a post from Megan MacKenzie.

An intriguing blog post from The Economist describes the crucial differences in local government around India.

Ivan Krastev reflects on the importance of trust in democracies in a recent TED talk.

Courtesy of The Atlantic.com, Russian dissident Sergei Udaltsov live-tweets his detention.

And finally, be sure to check out this thought-provoking obituary of Cambodia's King Sihanouk, who died this week at age 89.

Jared Bissinger explains why Burma's opening isn't necessarily the great economic opportunity it's chalked up to be.

Fadil Aliriza tracks the institutional reasons for the disillusionment of Tunisia's revolutionaries.

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Christian Caryl reports on the Salafi movement, which has been implicated in many of this week's protests around the Middle East.

Mohamed El Dahshan laments his Egyptian compatriots' overreaction to an insult against Islam -- and also explains why he's not worried about the introduction of veiled newsreaders on TV.

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Patrick Bodenham meets some of Burma's child soldiers, and examines why the government has failed to follow through on its pledge to end the problem. Christian Caryl explains why the predicament of Burma's Rohingya is becoming a new global cause célèbre for Muslims.

In an overview of recent papers on transition economics, Peter Passell explores the dynamics behind issues ranging from girls' schools to clean cooking stoves.

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Three Princeton researchers (Morgan Greene, Jonathan Friedman, and Richard Bennet) tell the story of how post-Yugoslavia Kosovo (with some help from the international community) managed to pull off a remarkable feat of state-building.

Endy Bayuni explains why Indonesians disagree about the start of Ramadan, and what it says about the country's climate of religious toleration.

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[Editor's note: Democracy Lab was operating on a reduced schedule for organizational reasons this week, but we'll be back to the regular rhythm come Monday.]

And now, this week's offerings from our bloggers:

Mohamed El Dahshan writes about the less-than-inspiring choices facing voters after the first round of Egypt's presidential elections.

Min Zin marks the first anniversary of Burma's continuing civil war.

Francisco Toro reports on the latest twist in the continuing saga of Hugo Chávez's cancer.

And Jackee Batanda takes a look at the latest tech success stories from Uganda.

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Fadil Aliriza exposes the difficulties Tunisia's new government faces in rooting out corruption from the old regime.

Min Zin looks at Burma's first street protests in more than 20 years and examines their potential impact on the country's progress towards democracy.

Peter Passell argues that well-meaning efforts to reduce climate change won't work unless developing countries can be persuaded that it's good for the bottom line.

Francisco Toro shows why much-vaunted adult literacy programs in Venezuela haven't actually produced much bang for the buck.

Endy Bayuni analyzes the maneuverings in Indonesia's political elite -- including rumors that President Yudhoyono's wife could emerge as his most likely successor.

Mohamed El Dahshan makes the case for Tunisia as a soft-power leader in the Middle East.

And Christian Caryl explains why regulating the international arm trade can make life easier for fragile societies.

This week's recommended reads:

The big story of the week, of course, is the first round of the presidential election in Egypt. FP's own David Kenner offers a handy guide to the early results.

For those wishing to go into greater depth, the Atlantic Council's Egypt Source website presents a number of excellent background pieces on the election. Economist Hoda Youseff wonders whether Egyptians are really prepared for the changes that a new president will bring. Mustafa El-Labbad examines likely shifts in foreign policy following the election. And frequent Democracy Lab contributor Magdy Samaan offers a skeptical take on the prospects for political stability once the voting is over.

Elsewhere, Jadaliyya.com examines electoral trends in Egypt, while Ahram Online presents an intriguing interview with long-time dissident Saad Eddin Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Institute has published a detailed study of public attitudes in Libya in the run-up to that country's next round of elections in June. The bottom line: People don't believe the National Transitional Council is doing its job. And the Legatum Institute's Anne Applebaum, writing for Slate, offers a vivid dispatch from Libya that vividly captures the tension between chaos and hope.

The Jamestown Foundation offers a finely grained analysis of the Islamist insurgency in Yemen that has taken over several provinces in the south of the country. At The New York Review of Books blog, Hugh Eakin scrutinizes the role of Saudi Arabia as Washington escalates its involvement in Yemen.

At OpenDemocracy.net, the French journalist and Middle East expert Francis Ghilès reflects on the past few decades of Tunisia's history through the prism of his own biography.

A remarkable piece at ProPublica tells the extraordinary story of a man whose personal fate embodies the problems of transitional justice in Guatemala.

A new European Union survey documents the continuing discrimination faced by Europe's ethnic Roma.

Eurasianet.org explains how citizens in Central Asia cope with harsh governments and dysfunctional infrastructure. Writing for OUPblog (Oxford University Press), Alexander Cooley contends that the war in Afghanistan has actually reinforced authoritarianism and corruption in the rest of Central Asia.

And as Azerbaijan hosts the 2012 Eurovision song contest in Baku, Human Rights House tracks the fate of pro-democracy activists. (The photo above shows members of the group "Sing for Democracy.")

Mohamed Fadel Fahmy interviews Robert Becker, who decided to stay in Egypt and have his day in court rather than leave the country with the other Americans implicated in the NGO affair.

Francisco Martin-Rayo argues that America is undermining Yemen's opportunity to build democracy for the sake of waging war on Al Qaeda. (The photo above shows Yemeni jihadis manning a checkpoint.)

Reporting from The Hague, Christopher Stephen explains why the welcome verdict against Charles Taylor shouldn't divert attention from the continuing irrelevance of the International Criminal Court.

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Thirty-five years after the end of the "Dirty War," Alex Gibson shows how a trial in Argentina is struggling to come to terms with a legacy of state-sponsored violence.

Peter Reuter explains why the West won't be able to contain money laundering from developing countries unless it cleans up its own act first.

Min Zin asks whether Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is making a mistake in her latest confrontation with the powers-that-be, and also offers an entertaining primer on the politics behind the latest Burmese New Year celebrations.

Mohamed El Dahshan explores the decision that has thrown Egypt's presidential election into disarray.

Juan Nagel shows why the Venezuelan government's recent decision to subsidize beauty products will score it political points.

Endy Bayuni explains how Aceh's separatist leaders have morphed from guerillas into governors.

And in his column, Christian Caryl argues that economic inequality is now becoming a hot political issue in both rich countries and poor ones.

This week's recommended reads:

In Foreign Affairs, Leon Goldsmith writes on the Alawite community of Syria and the motives for their persistent support of the Assad regime.

In an essay in the current issue of Journal of Democracy, political philosopher Abdou Filali-Ansary casts light on why many voters in the Arab world prefer Islamist parties -- and arrives at some surprising conclusions.

A new report by the International Crisis Group documents the growing fight over resources between the Iraqi central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government.

Writing for Project Syndicate, Alfred Stepan and Etienne Smith discuss the surprising resilience of democracy in Senegal.

Democracy Digest reports on the difficulties faced by Russian dissidents following Vladimir Putin's victory in the March 4 presidential elections. And the German Marshal Fund examines the recent release of imprisoned opposition leaders in Belarus. (The photo above shows activist Dmitry Bondarenko meeting his wife after leaving prison.)

And don't miss Jeffrey Bartholet's great travelogue from post-Mubarak Egypt in National Geographic.

It's been all Burma, all the time this week on the Democracy Lab, as we present our Burma Special Report. Experts weigh in on the crucial challenges the country must tackle in order to strengthen its path toward development, and (hopefully) democratization.

Tom Malinowski assesses the strength of sanctions in encouraging regime liberalization in Burma, and what its future leaders must do to continue this process.

In an excerpt from The Lady and the Peacock, a new biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, journalist Peter Popham shows the moments when Daw's extraordinary courage facing the Burmese military turned her into an iconic figure.

Rick Rowden assesses Burma's options for economic opening and development.

And Christian Caryl reports from Burma's former capital of Yangon, capturing the fever of excitement as well as the aura and strength of Aung San Suu Kyi. He also looks at how rampant corruption hinders the nation's possibility for development.

Some recommended reads for the week:

Stanford University's "Post-Soviet Post" looks at one factor impeding Ukraine's prospects for democracy (and the rule of law, and human rights): the pervasiveness of sexism in government.

Following the coup last week, a new report by the International Crisis Group discusses how to put Mali back on the path of constitutional order.

The Democracy Digest follows the feuding between the SCAF and Muslim Brotherhood, the two main contenders for power in Egypt.

An interview published in the Council on Foreign Relations gives an insider's view to the Arab League summit meeting in Baghdad this week.