Algeria’s Economic Woes in Run Up To Elections
As election monitors arrive in Algeria in the run up to elections, 22,000 security officers in Algeria have made the decision to stage a protest at the conditions of their employment. The protest will take place in front ...
NTC Unable to Broker Ceasefire between Rival Militias
Clashes between rival militias continued for the third day after the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) failed to broker a ceasefire between the two factions. Clashes occurred as heavy fire was exchanged between the town of Zuwara and ...
April 3, 2012
Category: Countries, Elections, Lebanon, Libya, Political Parties, Political transition, Rule of Law, Security Sector
Muslim Brotherhood’s Political Gamble
Marc Lynch writes in Foreign Policy today that the Muslim Brotherhood’s nomination of Deputy Supreme Guide Khairet al-Shater “sent an earthquake through Cairo’s already wildly careening political seen.” He believes that the nomination is not part of a ...
April 2, 2012
Category: Egypt, Elections, Featured, Islam and Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political Parties, Political transition
Sources Say Egypt’s Brotherhood Reaches Constituent Assembly Compromise
On Thursday, Al Arabiya reported that the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) would switch ten of its members on the Constituent Assembly for representatives from liberal and secular groups. The decision came after a week of ...
March 30, 2012
Category: Egypt, Featured, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties
March 19, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Featured, Government, Libya, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties, Political transition
Yemen: Salafists Form Political Party; Saleh Still Meddling
After decades of refusingto participate in political work, "The conference has decided to form a political entity - yemen's Al Rashad (righteousness) Union," read a statement from representatives from Yemen's Salafist community. They said they would take part ...
Election of the Head Parliament Polls Commission in Algeria
On Monday, Mohamed Seddiki was elected to lead the newly installed electoral commission. Parliamentary elections will be held in Algeria in May 2012. The commission, established by the January reform of the electoral law, will oversee the management of these elections and ...
Iran Parliamentary Candidates Launch Campaigns
“Organizing the country requires a capable parliament which can be achieved by active participation in elections,” read a purple banner in central Tehran. As the first nationwide vote since the 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it has drawn ...
POMED Notes: The People Demand the Fall of the Regime: The Social and Legal Origins of the Arab Spring
On Tuesday, the American University International Law Review hosted a symposium discussing “The Impact of the Arab Spring throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa: Building the Rule of Law and the Role of the International Community in Domestic Conflicts.” The first of a series of five consecutive panels addressed the social and legal origins of the Arab Spring. The panel featured Jonathan Brown, assistant professor at Georgetown University, Stephen ...
February 15, 2012
Category: Countries, DC Event Notes, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, International Law, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political Parties, Political transition, Rule of Law
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Demands a New Cabinet
On Wednesday, the Muslim Brotherhood's Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat Al Shater told Al Jazeera that the Islamist group rejected the cabinet of Prime Minister Kamal Al Ganzouri, and said, “we must start the formation of a coalition government immediately.” ...
February 10, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Islamist movements, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties, Political transition
Diplomat Died in Custody and Political Awakening in Libya
Today, the New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in a press release that a Libyan diplomat died 24 hours after being held in militia custody. Dr. Omar Brebesh was posted in France from 2004 until 2008, first as cultural attaché and ...
February 3, 2012
Category: Elections 2012, Featured, Human Rights, Justice, Libya, Political Parties, Political transition
Opposition Wins Big in Kuwait’s Election.
Today, early election results in Kuwait indicate that more than 30 of the 50 parliament seats have been secured by the opposition movement, which includes Islamists, liberals and independents, as well as youth groups who cite inspiration from the Arab ...
February 3, 2012
Category: Elections, Featured, Islam and Democracy, Kuwait, Monarchy, Political Islam, Political Parties
POMED Notes: Silenced: How Apostasy & Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide
On Tuesday, the Berkley Center for Religious Peace & World Affairs at Georgetown University hosted a discussion on the book Silenced: How Apostasy & Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide. The speakers were the authors Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom, and Nina Shea, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of the Center for Religious Freedom. The discussion was moderated ...
February 1, 2012
Category: Event Notes, Freedom, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Political Parties, Political transition, Uncategorized
Iraq Heads Towards Civil Strife
In less than a month after U.S. troops exited the country Iraq's government appears in turmoil. Barham Salih, Prime Minister of the autonomous northern Kurdish region, said the internal conflicts are "tearing the country apart," with the new motto being, "I'll have him for lunch before they have me for dinner." Over the past several months, the security services, under Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, have incarcerated more than 1,000 members ...
January 23, 2012
Category: Civil Society, Freedom, Government, Human Rights, Iraq, Journalism, Kurdish Region, Military, Political Parties, Political transition
Libyans Protest Slow Government Transition
Protesters stormed a government office in Benghazi, when the head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdel Jalil was inside. The crowd smashed windows and demanded the resignation of the government. This was the most serious and angry ...
POMED Notes: The United States and Egypt: Between Islamists and Generals
On Friday, the Women's Foreign Policy Group hosted a panel on the relationship of the United States and Egypt by examining what the ruling leadership of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) means for the future of Egyptian society, and U.S. policy. The speaker was Michele Dunne, director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. The panel was moderated by Patricia Ellis, president of ...
January 20, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Government, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties, Political transition
January 19, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Political Parties, Political transition
Iraq’s Sunni Cabinet Ministers Suspended
An Iraqi official stated that the Sunni bloc of the Cabinet, Iraqiya, has been suspended since boycotting its sessions. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh stated that with the suspension, the Sunni ministers will not be "allowed to manage ministries, and all ...
Assad Blames Foreign Conspiracy for Syrian Instability
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave a televised speech at Damascus University, announcing he would not be stepping down from power, and affirming his belief that he still has the Syrian people's support. In a speech that lasted almost two ...
Islamist Gains in Egypt’s Elections While Women Protest
In a paper entitled Salafis and Sufis in Egypt, which was released by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Jonathon Brown reviews Egypt's latest election and the gains made by a number of Islamist parties- particularly the Muslim Brotherhood ...
December 22, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Government, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political Parties, Political transition, Protests