On Thursday, the State Department released an overview of U.S. support for the Tunisian transition by helping lay the groundwork for responsive and accountable governance and supporting preparation for elections this summer.  In order to meet these goals, the Department is seeking to build the capacity of civil society organizations, political parties, and the media.  Additionally, in coordination with international partners and financial institutions, the U.S. is seeking to support ...

Last week, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held an all-day conference entitled “Democratization and Conflict in the Arab World: Challenges, Opportunities and Dangers.” The first panel featured USIP’s own Steve Heydemann and Daniel Brumberg, as well as Peter Mandaville of the US State Department and David Waldner from the University of Virginia. Continue reading below or click here for the pdf. The second panel featured USIP’s Sheldon Himelfarb as chair, ...

On Thursday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held the second in its ongoing series, "Shifting Sands: Political Transitions in the Middle East.” The witnesses for the hearing were Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), and Tamara Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, both at the U.S. Department of State. ...

Over the past day, the Bahraini government has detained two opposition leaders, shut down the only opposition newspaper and announced it will prosecute medical professionals for treating protesters. Jawad Ferooz, the vice-president of the party, and Mattar Ibrahim Mattar, who recently resigned as a member of parliament, were detained on Monday evening. Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch noted a pattern of government critics being arrested by plain-clothed masked men and ...

The deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council to end the political crisis in Yemen is in limbo following the failure to reach a signing last week. The opposition refused to sign when Yemeni President Ali Abdellah Saleh announced that he would sign as head of the ruling party, not as president. His associate, Abed Al Jundi, added that Saleh did not want to sign the deal that was mediated by a bloc ...

The New York Times reports that the agreement reached by Fateh and Hamas to form a unity government was influenced by regional changes created by the Arab Spring. Specifically, unrest in Syria may deprive Hamas of its external headquarters; while, a new Egyptian regime may open the Gaza-Sinai border. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has argued that unity was needed to give legitimacy to Palestinian Authority's push for statehood before the ...

The Economist writes that the resignation deal for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, will be signed on May 1st.  The deal requires  Saleh to hand over power to his vice president who will run a unity government for one month before Saleh officially resigns. After his resignation new presidential elections will be held in 60 days time.  The deal, which was ...

About 200 officials from Syria's ruling Arab Socialist Baath Party have resigned in protest of the regime's violent repression of the country's protests. The defections were primarily from low-ranking officials from the Deraa area, and follows the resignation of some 30 officials in the city of Baniyas. At the United Nations, a Security Council draft resolution was condemning the crackdown was voted down by several members. Russia argued that ...

Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have reportedly reached a deal to end their four year dispute according to Egyptian and Palestinian officials.  Meetings between the officials of the two groups took place n Cairo under Egyptian auspices.  The tentative plan calls for the formation of a single caretaker government with presidential and parliamentary elections to follow in a year's time.  Key questions over the control of rival security forces ...

The Pew Research Center published a poll on Egypt's political outlook on Tuesday, offering the "first credible" statistical insight of the political trends in post-revolutionary Egypt. Researchers conducted personal interviews with 1,000 Egyptian adults between 24 March and 7 April. Generally, the poll shows a highly favorable view of the military, and split support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the April 6 Movement and Ayman Nour's Al-Ghad party. The ...

Jordanian Senate President Taher Masri said the work of the National Dialogue Committee is running smoothly and should conclude in under a month. The four subcommittees which comprise the National Dialogue Committee are charged respectively with general framework, political parties, elections and constitutional amendments. The committee has been criticized for lacking youth representation and for serving as more of a royal think tank.

On Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented the Justice and Development Party (AKP)'s election manifesto in which he outlined the government's economic vision for Turkey's future. He also criticized the opposition party, Republican People's Party (CHP)'s economic policy and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)'s incitement of violence against police officers in the southeast during protests over the ban of Kurdish candidates.  The CHP also released its election manifesto, ...

Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, has said he is optimistic that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati's new cabinet will be officially formed  shortly after the Easter holiday.  The speaker said that most of the "thorny issues" has been resolved and that negotiations were focusing on "final touches."  The formation of a new government has been in a three month long deadlock with political infighting over specific cabinet portfolios and ...