Democracy Lab Highlights, March 23, 2012

DemLab Weekly Highlights, March 23, 2012:

Nowruz (Persian New Year) was celebrated throughout many Asian countries this week. Above, Kyrgyz women wear traditional costumes at festivities. 

Tom Finn profiles Yemen’s new leader and the challenges he faces in keeping the country united.

Christian Caryl explains why it’s time for the U.S. to take pointers from the rest of the world in the fight against corruption.

Jackee Budesta Batanda reports on an initiative enabling Ugandans to tell their own stories to their compatriots and the world.

Peter Passell assesses the economic reasons for the failure of the war on drugs.

And Mohamed El Dahshan shows how Egyptian artists are challenging military rule in the streets of Cairo.

And here are this week’s recommended reads:

A new study of transitional countries around the world by Germany’s Bertelsmann Stiftung warns that "[p]olitical freedoms are increasingly being curtailed in many countries around the globe."

Writing on the Jadaliyya website, journalist Salah Al-Nasrawi argues that Arab journalists deserve more of a voice in Western media organizations.

A new Brookings Institution report suggests measures for resolving the oil dispute between Sudan and South Sudan that threatens to pour fuel on the fire of regional conflict.

The Institute for War and Peace Report offers an insightful report on a presidential election in South Ossetia, paving the way for a possible showdown between the breakaway republic’s envoy to Moscow and a former KGB general.

A new study by the UK’s Overseas Development Institute explores urban displacement in Jordan and the obstacles it poses to humanitarian assistance.