Reforms have made its workings more open, attracting new young blood to its ranks Mr Torrijos, for example.

ECONOMIST: Panama

At the opposite end of the country, along Iran's border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, the security forces are also being stretched by dozens of bandit groups and particularly by the savagery of Abdolmalek Rigi, a young Baluch who kills in cold blood in the name of his vaunted ideals, Sunni Islam and Baluchi nationalism.

ECONOMIST: Iran (2)