Winston Churchill once said that the US government will always do the right thing, but only after it has exhausted all the alternatives.

That quote has been ringing through my head a lot lately while observing the insider trading trial of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. As I write this,...

November 16th will mark the one-year anniversary of the murder of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was imprisoned last year in Moscow under pre-trial detention and intentionally denied the medical care that led to his death. The responsibility lies with the Russian government, and specifically with individual officials...

In the aftermath of the bloody repression of April and May 2010 which claimed the lives of close to 90 civilians, the Thai authorities cooed and purred in tones of reconciliation. They promised a renewed dedication to peace and dialogue, and movement toward an...

The recent decision by a Thai appeals court to extradite the alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout, touted as the "Merchant of Death" in popular books and movies, raised many hopes that this important case would finally see trial before a U.S. court. This opportunity, however, may yet be squandered, as...

The announcement by Burma's notoriously brutal military junta to hold elections this November left many observers scratching their heads: Why even bother going through the motions? No one is fooled by this sham, least of all the supporters of political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, whose house arrest...

Over the past number of months, the Thai government led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has become the target of much international criticism, ranging from human rights abuses, failure to investigate, violations of freedom of the press, and arbitrary detentions, among other

If next week the government of Iran or Venezuela were to dispatch its military to the streets to brutally suppress a protest rally, one would expect widespread political outrage expressed by Washington. However when it actually happens in Thailand, the "Country of Smiles" where about 90 mostly unarmed...

This week President Dmitry Medvedev received perhaps the warmest welcome in recent memory of a Russian head of state during his visit to California and Washington DC . This warmth, fraternity, and sudden seemingly naïve trust placed into the relationship on behalf of President Barack Obama served a...

At a moment in which the tide of global democracy is seemingly in reversal, it is heartening to note the enthusiasm with which many voters in Africa are taking to the civic duties of participation in campaigns, building grassroots movements of popular support, and claiming ownership in the...

The story of Peter Erlinder, an American law professor and leading figure of the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, reads like a macabre thriller with an unresolved ending. He arrived to Rwanda on May 28th to help defend a jailed opposition presidential candidate, and then was promptly arrested and detained...

What a difference a month makes: it seems hard to remember just how embattled, undecided, and ineffectual the Barack Obama administration looked just a month ago before the passage of the laborious health care bill. Now brimming with the confidence of a master backroom kingmaker, President Obama sets off for...

On March 15th, tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Hungary's beautiful capital Budapest, ostensibly to celebrate the 162nd anniversary of the 1848-1948 revolution and War of Independence. Among the many events commemorating this anniversary across city, a multitudinous political rally for the far-right party Jobbik...

The three-day summit held this week in Paris between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has exceeded all expectations, marking a turning point in a deepening Franco-Russo alliance. In an abrupt turn away from past human rights criticism, Sarkozy is making a clear move to...

Russia has become a pretty scary place for lawyers to work, and not for any lack of power lunches, major dealmaking, or luxury retailers. While we most often hear about the scores of journalists who pay a high price for their criticism of the Kremlin, the legal profession...

Some people think that Russian politics have become predictably boring, especially compared to the competitive race which led to the recent victory of Viktor Yanukovych. Even the analyst Evgeny Kiselyov told The New York Times that it's like comparing a "cemetery" with a "madhouse."

I respectfully disagree. There...

In Dale Carnegie's popular 1936 book How to Win Friends and Influence People, he gives some good advice for basic statecraft, such as giving an "honest and sincere appreciation" and "arouse in the other person an eager want."

Clearly the U.S. government is reading from a different script in its...

Brazil in the 21st century is impressive to international observers for its dynamic economic growth, low inflation, and firmly established democratic institutions. How the country overcame the global economic crisis so swiftly is just one demonstration of their brilliant efforts. But the question remains: what kind...

With a population of more than 150 million, the second largest economy on the continent, and millions of barrels of oil produced a day, Nigeria is like the AIG of Africa: it's just too big to fail.

Yet fail it might, if serious corrections are not made to its current...

I have been getting a number of calls and emails about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's impromptu attack against Mikhail Khodorkovsky during the televised call-in show this week, and there was one thing remarkably different from back when I would receive such calls just a few years ago: not...

According to reports, late on Monday night the 37-year-old Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky suffered a fatal rupture of the abdominal membrane causing heart failure and death. He was being held in pre-trial detention in Moscow for almost a year, where he was subjected harsh conditions and refused proper medical...