Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, July 13, 2012

Mark Katz explains why Moscow’s decision to send marines to Syria could cause more problems than it solves.

Jeffrey Taylor argues that Washington’s support for the president of Rwanda is inflaming civil war in the Congo.

Mac Margolis assails Latin America’s democratic double standards.

Christian Caryl questions Washington’s commitment to including support for human rights in America’s foreign policy "pivot" to Asia.

A DemLab slide slow opens a window onto the sectarian conflict in Burma.

Peter Passell offers a fresh take on foreign direct investment and the global economy.

Chloé de Préneuf sends a dispatch from election day in Tripoli.

Jackee Batanda explains why the Ugandan public is increasingly unwilling to tolerate government corruption.

Endy Bayuni reports on the dilemma facing voters as they chose the new mayor of Jakarta.

One year after South Sudan’s independence from Sudan, Adrienne Klasa explores the new country’s risky bid to achieve economic independence from its parent country.

And Min Zin debunks talk of a divide among Burma’s ruling elite.

This week’s recommended reads:

Maghreb Blog reports on the optimism of the Libyan election last week.

Writing for FP, Sara Bush asks whether the West is undermining Tunisia’s nascent democracy by repeating the mistakes of 1990 in Eastern Europe.

In his piece for The Chronikler, Khaled Diab explores the secret police files the Mubarak regime kept on his father.

Writing on the occasion of Global Freedom of Assembly Day, Mary McGuire of Freedom House takes note of some of the most absurd bans on freedom of association around the world.

Jim Lobe, writing at Antiwar.com, discovers that the citizens of Muslim countries yearn for democracy — but believe the U.S. impedes that goal in their own countries.

Democracy Digest analyzes the ruling Islamist party’s strategy for leading Tunisia through the transitional period to democracy.

In an intriguing essay for Places, Rudabeh Pakravan writes about the tug-of-war in Teheran between the Islamist authorities and the owners of satellite dishes. Giorgi Lomsadze reports for EurasiaNet on the fight over access to television in the run-up to this fall’s parliamentary election in Georgia.