Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, August 12, 2013

Christian Caryl explains why a small town in Libya continues to defy the International Criminal Court’s demands for the handover of Muammar Qaddafi’s son. As part of his recent on-scene coverage from the country, Caryl also looks at Libyan society through the prism of the gridlock on its streets. 

Mohamed Eljarh analyzes the rising threats against Libya’s female judges — and why they’re putting reform of the judiciary at risk. 

Anna Nemtsova explains why President Obama’s cancellation of his summit with his Russian counterpart is little more than a blip on Vladimir Putin’s radar.

Mohamed El Dahshan reports on Egyptians’ quixotic search for a political middle path. Dahshan also deconstructs the mass protests in Morocco over the "accidental" pardoning of a Spanish pedophile. 

Juan Nagel scrutinizes the opposition roadmap in Venezuela. 

Christopher Stephen tells the story of women soccer players from the Middle East and their struggle for the right to compete. 

And now for this week’s recommended reads: 

Blogging for the Prospect, Rachel Aspden ruminates on the deep divide between Egypt’s army and the Muslim Brotherhood. The International Crisis Group offers a report warning about the risk of rising violence in Egypt’s transition. 

The Atlantic Council’s Danya Greenfield and Brian Braun urge the Jordanian government to pay attention to its citizens’ grievances. 

Writing for PBS, Azmat Khan directs attention to Yemen’s challenges that haven’t been making headlines. 

At Foreign Affairs, Lindsay Benstead, Ellen M. Lust, and Jakob Wichmann survey public opinion on democracy and arrive at optimistic conclusions about the country’s future. The New Yorker‘s Jon Lee Anderson offers a far less optimistic take. 

Writing for The New York Review of Books Blog, Sarah Birke presents a memorable portrait of Damascus as it adapts to life amid civil war. 

The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ David Santoro argues that Burma needs to make good on its promises to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction. 

Mary Elizabeth King, writing for Waging Nonviolence, pays tribute to the world’s history of non-violent resistance.

The Telegraph presents a gallery of photos from the Eid clashes in Kashmir between Muslims and police.