They are -- there's a serious institution-building challenge that exists in Libya, as elsewhere in the region.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

The challenges posed by volatile cross-border capital flows make institution-building a top priority in all of these countries.

ECONOMIST: Letters

Africa-pessimists are quick to belittle all this pan-African institution-building, and it is easy to point to the failures.

ECONOMIST: Africa's hegemon

There is no autonomous operational European command headquarters, because the British do not want one, and no money for extravagant institution-building.

ECONOMIST: France and NATO

Undoubtedly, the Obama Administration is too fastidious for such Cold War-style behaviour, but perhaps overt, democratic institution-building assistance is not too much to ask.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: How to make Egypt safe for democracy

Part of the appeal of a preventive institution-building strategy such as this is that it costs far less than having to intervene with military force in places, such as Somalia, where weak states have already failed.

ECONOMIST: Africa and the ��war on terror��

And, as there is no interest in the United States assuming (either unilaterally or as part of the United Nations) the responsibilities for a full-fledged, long-term colonial administration of Somalia -- which is the only way the needed nation- and institution-building might proceed, the fastest possible removal of U.S. forces is the only way to prevent still further, indefensible casualties.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

The full, fascinating story of the building is told in a richly detailed exhibition, "Architecture at Cooper, 1859-2009, " drawn from the institution's extensive archives and on view in the Foundation Building through Dec. 11.

WSJ: Cooper Union's New Building, at 41 Cooper Square | By WSJ Architecture Critic Ada Louis Huxtable