Eastern Europe a Decade Later: The Postcommunist Divide

Western pressure can be decisive, but it is not always easy to forecast when and how it will be applied.

Many observers regarded 1999 as a year of progress for democracy in the Arab world. There is reason to doubt, however, whether any meaningful change has really occurred.

Since their transitions, the democracies of the “third wave” have followed a range of trajectories beyond simple survival or breakdown. Many have stagnated at low levels of democracy and some…