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There’s a saying: As goes Nigeria, so goes Africa. If this weekend’s flawed and violent presidential elections are any indicator, that’s a bad sign for the world’s poorest continent. But Walter Carrington, former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, tells FP that the country’s political turmoil is neither as unpredictable nor as contagious as you might think.

A showdown looms between Democrats in the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush, who has promised to veto any attempts to set a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. But in their drive to win the domestic debate, those arguing for a U.S. exit are painting a rosy picture of an Iraq that is more likely to fall apart than to come together.

Last week’s shootings at Virginia Tech left 32 innocent victims dead and at least another 15 wounded. Cho Seung-Hui’s rampage stands among the worst such sprees by a single shooter in world history. As this week’s FP List shows, all of them prove to be equally senseless and horrifying.

News that the Virginia Tech gunman was a fellow countryman set off a firestorm of apologies in South Korea. But amid shock that one of their own could commit such a heinous act is surprise that his crime—not his race—is the main issue in the multicultural United States. And in that, there’s a lesson to be learned for a modern nation still struggling to come to terms with its own increasing diversity.

News that the Virginia Tech shooter was a fellow countryman set off a firestorm of apologies in South Korea. But amid shock that one of their own could commit such a heinous act is surprise that his crime—not his race—is the main issue in the multicultural United States. And in that, there’s a lesson to be learned for a modern nation still struggling to come to terms with its own increasing diversity.

The novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist hit bookstores earlier this month to great fanfare and acclaim. Author Mohsin Hamid wrote his book as a monologue by a young Pakistani who tells the story of his success and subsequent disillusionment with the United States to a stranger he encounters at a Lahore café. FP recently spoke with Hamid about national identity, the flaws of globalization, and the experiences of Muslim immigrants in the West.

When four British-born Muslims blew themselves up on the London transit system on July 7, 2005, many Britons were convinced that their country’s model of assimilation had failed. The attacks, coupled with a war on terror that seems to reveal an ever-widening gulf between Islam and the West, sparked talk of a crisis of integration, seen most clearly in the acute alienation of the country’s Muslim youth.But for all the talk of crisis, a new Gallup World Poll finds that more binds the British majority with its religious minority than not. The greatest challenge of all may be in moving beyond minor, symbolic controversies in order to pave a path toward a shared future.

Despite efforts to stem the global trade in narcotics—indeed, often because of them—new trade routes are emerging around the world, posing challenges to authorities and local populations alike. In this week’s List, FP takes a look at the newest fronts in the global war on drugs.

Widely credited as the fountainhead of neoconservative ideology and the chief salesman for the Iraq War, Richard Perle might be expected to play the wallflower in light of the Bush administration’s current travails. But as FP found out in a rare interview with the man known to his adversaries as the ”Prince of Darkness,” Perle remains as undaunted as ever.

Many in Bangladesh are relieved that the military stepped in to liberate them from political chaos. But this move has set the country on a slippery slope to authoritarian rule. In the long run, the best formula for success is to build Bangladesh into a showcase for democracy in the Islamic world.

Remember when Japan was supposed to overtake the United States and become the world’s economic superpower? Two decades later, the suggestion is laughable. FP takes a look at this and other famous predictions that never came true.

Iran’s capture of 15 British sailors and marines set off a diplomatic showdown and sparked comparisons to the infamous takeover of the American embassy in Iran. For this week’s Seven Questions, FP asked Mark Bowden, author of a bestselling book about the 1979 crisis, for his take on Iran's actions.