Morsi Speech Sparks Anger, Criticism
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi made a speech late on Wednesday that has garnered immense criticism from the Egyptian opposition and sparked anger among portions of the Egyptian public. President Morsi admitted that he had made some mistakes in his ...
Bahraini Legislators Respond to Letter from US Congress
A group of Bahraini legislators issued a response to a letter sent earlier this month by 20 Members of the United States Congress that expressed concern at the delayed visit of U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture ...
Event Notes: “The Role of Economics in Democratic Transitions – The Case of Tunisia”
The National Endowment for Democracy hosted a lecture titled “The Role of Economics in Democratic Transitions: The Case of Tunisia.” It featured Mondher Ben Ayed, President and CEO of TMI – a Tunis based technology firm – and former advisor to the Prime Minister of Tunisia. The lecture was moderated by Larry Diamond, Co-Chair of the Research Council of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for ...
June 21, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Economics, Event Notes, Political transition, Reform, Tunisia
Disagreement Over U.S. Policy in Syria
Photo Credit: Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty ImagesSyria's rebel commander, Gen. Salim Idris, confirmed that they have received new weapons, though he refused to indicate the source. He also urged the U.S. ...
June 21, 2013
Category: Conflict, Featured, Foreign Aid, Political transition, Sectarianism, Syria, US foreign policy
Luxor Protests Continue Over New Governor Appointment
President Mohamed Morsi appointed 17 new governors on Sunday including eight Islamists, seven of whom belong to the Muslim Brotherhood. Of these appointments, the naming of Adel al-Khayat as governor of Luxor inflamed controversy and sparked protests which have continued ...
June 20, 2013
Category: Egypt, Featured, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political transition, Protests
Bouteflika Remains Ill, Succession Speculation Continues
In an effort to reassure the Algerian public of his good health, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika made a television appearance last week from his hospital bed in Paris. President Bouteflika suffered a stroke in April, and an initial statement from his ...
A Democratic Transitions How-To
In their new book, Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons from Democratic Transitions, Isobel Coleman and Terra Lawson-Remer highlight critical factors for any emerging democracy. Coleman and Lawson-Remer's "seven most important takeaways" for transitioning countries are presented in summary here: Policymakers must anticipate economic downturns and shock ...
G8 Summit Calls for Urgent Syria Peace Conference
On Monday, senior officials of the Group of Eight (G8) met for a two-day conference to draft a statement on the war in Syria acceptable to both Russia and to those who seek to depose President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting’s ...
Amendment on US-MENA Tear Gas Sales in NDAA
During the recent mark up of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (H.R. 1960), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced an amendment (H.R. 4310) that would place certain restrictions on the sale of ...
POMED Notes: “Turkey and the Arab Spring”
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a panel on Thursday, June 13, 2013 from 3-5pm on Turkey’s role in and response to the Arab Spring protests, political transitions, and revolutions. The panel was hosted by Christian Ostermann, director of the History and Public Policy Program (HAPP) and the director of the European Studies (ES) program at the Wilson Center, and featured Bülent Aras, Chairman of the Turkish Foreign ...
June 17, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Economics, Egypt, EU, Event Notes, Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kurdish Region, Libya, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference-”A New Ruling Bargain- Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) co-hosted a conference titled "Dynamic Gulf: Forces of Change in a Strategic Region." The second panel, “A New Ruling Bargain? Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics,” was moderated by Prof. Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the George Washington University, and featured panelists Andrew Hammond, former Reuters correspondent for Saudi Arabia, Ali Al Shihabi, ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Economics, Egypt, Freedom, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Oman, Political Islam, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen
U.S. to Provide Military Aid to Syrian Rebels
In a statement Thursday, Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications, Ben Rhodes announced that the intelligence community has determined with high confidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, against the opposition multiple ...
Experts: “More Robust” Response Needed on NGO Verdict
The Working Group on Egypt, a bipartisan group of foreign policy experts, has released a letter to President Barack Obama urging "a more robust public response on the part of the United States" regarding the recent verdict ...
June 12, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Egypt, Featured, Human Rights, Political transition, US foreign policy, US politics
June 10, 2013
Category: Elections, Featured, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Journalism, Parliament, Political Islam, Political transition, Reform
POMED Notes: “Egypt’s Draft NGO Law–Impact and Implications”
The Middle East Institute's event "Egypt's Draft NGO Law: Impact and Implications" was moderated by Kate Seelye, senior vice president of the Middle East Institute, and featured Sarah Morgan, deputy Washington Director of Human Rights Watch, and Nancy Okail, director of Freedom House' s Egypt program. The panelists outlined the potential threats Egypt's proposed NGO law poses to civil society, human rights, and democracy, and also discussed the impact the ...
June 10, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Islamist movements, Legislation, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political transition, US foreign policy
Dozens Killed in Libya After Protester-Militia Clash
Approximately 31 people have been killed and at least 100 injured in Benghazi after a militia opened fire on protesters gathered outside its base on Saturday. Demonstrators reportedly rallied outside the headquarters of the Libya Shield brigade to demand ...
June 9, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Conflict, Featured, Human Rights, Libya, Political transition, Protests
Yemen Begins Second Round of National Talks
On Saturday, Yemen convened the second round of its national dialogue aimed at drafting a new constitution and preparing for elections in 2014 led by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi. The dialogue was part of a U.N.-brokered deal that eased ...
“U.S. Strategy in the Middle East: An Address by Senator John McCain”
At an event hosted by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution on June 6, 2013 at 2:15pm, Senator John McCain gave his first public remarks on the conflict in Syria and his thoughts on wider Middle East policy for the first time since he visited Syria last month. Brookings Institution Vice President and Director for Foreign Police Martin Indyk provided introductory remarks and Senior Foreign ...
June 7, 2013
Category: al-Qaeda, Civil-Military Relations, Conflict, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamist movements, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, NATO, Palestine, Political Islam, Political transition, Sectarianism, Secularism, Syria, Turkey, UAE, US foreign policy
Egyptian Court Defends NGO Verdict
Cairo Criminal Court released details of the NGO trial verdict and defended its ruling as a stand against external interests, arguing that foreign funding of civil society organizations is a form of "control, predominance and soft imperialism practiced by ...
June 7, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Courts and Judiciary, Egypt, Featured, Muslim Brotherhood, Political transition, US foreign policy