In a new Carnegie Paper, Marwan Muasher discusses failed attempts to implement political reform in Jordan over the last decade.   Muasher argues that King Abdullah II's numerous attempts to launch political reform initiatives, since assuming the throne in 1999, have been "thwarted by a resilient class of political elites and bureaucrats" originally created by the regime to protect itself.  He highlights, in particular, elite resistance to the  Jordanian National Agenda, ...

Gamal al-Banna, scholar and younger brother of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, in an interview with Egyptian newspaper AlMasry AlYoum, rejected the idea of of Egypt as a 'civil state with an Islamic reference.'  Al-Banna said that such a concept was a fallacy as such a state would become a religious state.  He stated that the religious outlook would win out over the civilian outlook, if such a system were ...

On Thursday, the Woodrow Wilson Center held a panel discussion entitled: “Upheaval in the Middle East: What is Turkey’s Strategy.” Andri Oriphanides, of the Woodrow Wilson Center, moderated the discussion.  Renowned Turkish journalist, Semih Dundar Idiz, and Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, Ian Lesser, presented on the panel. For full notes, continue below.  For pdf version, click here. Andri Oriphanides made opening remarks and introduced the two panelists.  ...

On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs held a hearing entitled “Human Rights and Democratic Reform in Iran.”  Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA) chaired the committee hearing, Senators James Risch (R-ID), Tom Udal (D-NM) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) were also present. Assistant Secretary of State Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael H. Posner; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State ...

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 Libyan oppositions leadership, the Transitional National Council (NTC), announced its plan for an interim government once the Gadhafi regime has been removed from power.  Mahmoud Jibril, NTC representative, announced that the interim government would immediately take over day-to-day governance and create an interim government. This government would be comprised of members from the NTC, technocrats from the Gadhafi regime, senior military and intelligence officers, and a supreme court justice. ...

Former Tunisian interior minister Farhat Rajhi warned that if the Islamist group Ennahda were to win in an elections, Ben Ali loyalists would stage a coup.  He said the 'people of the coast,' referring to Ben Ali loyalists with their main power base around the coastal city of Sousse, would not allow their power to be taken away.  The Ennahda group could poll well in the conservative south of the ...

Writing in the New York Times, Roger Cohen stated "Osama Bin Laden is dead -- and so is an old Middle East" and noted that the recent events in the Middle East demonstrate how the al-Qaeda leader had lost touch with Arab youth who have "move irrelevant....Facebook and Twitter turned out to be far more effective agents of change than any 'martyrdom' attack on apostates, crusaders and Zionists – the ...

This week, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) released its second briefing paper on Egypt which provides an overview of the measures that have been implemented since President Hosni Mubarak stepped down and discusses the referendum.  The report also addresses the issues that need to be addressed prior to the upcoming elections such as the establishment of  independent and transparent supreme judicial bodies to supervise elections, enforce election laws ...

On Wednesday, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Judith McHale discussed the State Department's 'people-to-people' diplomacy initiative at the Exchange 2.0 Summit.  In her address, she noted the importance of engaging with more people "to better ensure the stability and security of our world."  She highlighted the youth presence online and the importance of the youth as "drivers of change" as seen in the Middle East and North ...

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 ...

On Saturday, UAE authorities dissolved the board of directors of a the Jurist Association, a prominent civil society organization in the country and replaced its members with state appointees.  Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that the action is part of a broader crackdown on peaceful dissent by the government. Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW  stated that "UAE authorities have staged a hostile takeover of one of the country’s ...

Last week, Freedom House released its report on internet freedom in 37 countries around the world. The report found that while the number of internet users have increased, "governments have stepped up efforts to regulate, and in some instance tightly control, the new medium."  The study highlights the  increase in the number of blocked and filtered sites as well as the arrest of bloggers and internet users posting information contrary ...