"The Dissident's Tookit"

Wow! If you want to read a fresh, empirically-based analysis of what make democratic revolutions succeed, take a look at this just-published piece by Erica Chenoweth in Foreign Policy. She stresses that there is no one strategy for success, and provides real insight into the process. 

Here is one of many passages that stand out:

"The results of our research show that opposition campaigns are successful when they manage to do three key things: (1) attract widespread and diverse participation; (2) develop a strategy that allows them to maneuver around repression; and (3) provoke defections, loyalty shifts, or disobedience among regime elites and/or security forces."

Outstanding piece on the South China Sea

Just extraordinary multi-media piece from the New York Times on the struggle for control of the South China Sea, with a fascinating look into how the Philippines government is coping. Go here...