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 ...
Saudi Human Rights Activist Sentenced to 8 Years
A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced Abdul-Karim al-Khader, a founding member of one of Saudi Arabia’s leading human rights organizations, to eight years in jail on grounds of inciting sedition. Al-Khader is the co-founder of the Saudi Political Civil ...
June 26, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Featured, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia
U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain Meets Crown Media Adviser
Bahraini Adviser to the King for Media Affairs Nabil bin Yaqoob Al Hamer received U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain Thomas Krajeski yesterday at Gudaibiya Palace, where "they discussed strong historic relations" between Bahrain and the United States, "and their progress in various fields." ...
HRW Reports on Civil Society Restrictions in Bahrain
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a new report titled "Interfere, Restrict, Control: Restraints on Freedom of Association in Bahrain." The report details the repressive laws and policies that restrain civic and political groups and trade unions in Bahrain. The report ...
June 20, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, United Nations, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa Hearing: Elections in Iran: The Regime Cementing its Control”
On Tuesday, June 18, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “Elections in Iran: The Regime Cementing its Control.” Mr. Alireza Nader, Senior International Policy Analyst at RAND Corporation, Dr. Suzanne Maloney, Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and Mr. Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Associate at the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, testified. The subcommittee’s ...
June 19, 2013
Category: Committee Meetings, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Israel, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Secularism, Syria, UN Security Council, US foreign policy, US politics, Women, Youth
June 18, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil-Military Relations, Courts and Judiciary, Diplomacy, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Protests, Reform, Social Media, Turkey, Uncategorized, US foreign policy
Saudi Women Sentenced to Jail; Shia Unrest Continues
Two Saudi Arabian women have been sentenced to ten months in jail and a two year travel ban for helping a Canadian woman leave her Saudi husband. Equality Now, an NGO dedicated to women's rights, explained that the Canadian ...
June 18, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Protests, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism
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 ...
Analysts React to Rouhani’s Presidential Victory
In the wake of Hassan Rouhani's win in Iran's elections on Friday, analysts have produced varying responses regarding the election's implications on Iran's future. Speaking of U.S.-Iranian relations going forward, Vali Nasr wrote that Rouhani's election was not a change in ...
Senior Muslim Brotherhood Member Discusses Egyptian NGO Law
Amr Darrag, Senior Muslim Brotherhood member, professor of engineering at Cairo University, and recently appointed Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, commented on the goals of the controversial proposed NGO law in a ...
June 17, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political Islam, US foreign policy
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
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference–”New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists”
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 first panel, "New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists", was moderated by Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of POMED, and featured as panelists Kristin Smith Diwan, Assistant Professor of Comparative and Regional Studies at the American University School of International Service; Jane ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Event Notes, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US foreign policy, Women, Youth
Iran Extends Voting Period During Election Day
Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Moammad Najar announced that the voting period in today's presidential elections in the country will be extended to grant Iran's more than 50 million eligible voters more time to cast their ballots. The polls opened ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Reform
New POMED Policy Brief: “The Gezi Park Protests: Time for a New U.S. Approach to Turkey”
In POMED's latest policy brief, "The Gezi Park Protests: Time for a New U.S. Approach to Turkey," Professor Howard Eissenstat writes, "Amidst ongoing protests in Turkey, the media has focused its attention on both the causes of the crisis and the Turkish government’s response. Despite this focus, there have been noticeably few assessments of potential outcomes, or recommendations for a broader U.S. response. This brief attempts to help fill that gap, with a ...
June 13, 2013
Category: Human Rights, Policy Briefs, Publications, Reform, Turkey, US foreign policy
Calm in Taksim Square Following Violent Clashes
Protests continued into the night in central Istanbul as police attempted to clear Taksim Square with tear gas and water cannons. The square has been largely cleared with bulldozers appearing at dawn to clear away debris however protesters have ...
June 12, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Journalism, Protests, Turkey
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
POMED Notes: “The Changing Dynamics of the Syria Crisis”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's event "The Changing Dynamics of the Syria Crisis" featured several regional experts who discussed recent developments in the conflict in Syria and their potential ramifications. The panelists included Raphael LeFevre, Gates Scholar and PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge; Paul Salem, Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut; Yezid Sayigh, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center; and Dmitri Trenin, ...
June 10, 2013
Category: Conflict, Event Notes, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Syria
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