In fifteen years, Lagos has gone from being a symbol of urban disorder to a widely cited example of effective African governance.

A close examination of governance successes in the developing world indicates that effective advocacy must move beyond a search for single-focus “magic bullet” solutions toward an integrated approach that recognizes multiple interrelated drivers of governance change.

Participatory aid needs to move away from a model of participatory projects as standalone endeavors toward building linkages with domestic institutions and directly supporting citizen empowerment.

Within the aid community, there are sharply divergent views on how political development assistance is and how political it should be.

Development aid is inherently political, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Developmental change is an inherently political process and development aid must necessarily be politically informed and politically engaged to be successful.

The overdue recognition that development in all sectors is an inherently political process is driving international aid providers to try to learn how to think and act politically.

International aid donors have learned important lessons about how to provide effective governance assistance to developing countries, but turning these insights into practice remains a major challenge.

As Peruvians head to the polls on June 5, their democracy faces a major test. Both presidential candidates have weak democratic credentials and reflect the continued shortcomings of Peru's widely lauded political and economic model.

Since Iran’s power in the Middle East is due chiefly to its political influence, rather than its military prowess, U.S. policy should aim to dilute Tehran’s influence abroad and strengthen moderate forces within Iran.