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Atlantic Council blogs provide short-form analyses from Council experts and a wider community of global voices on the world’s most important news stories.
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MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

Congress and the Reluctance to Stop US Aid to Egypt

By Amy Hawthorne

As Congress races against the clock to complete a $1.1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill to fund the federal government for the rest of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, it has included in the legislation provisions to allow the Obama administration to resume Egypt aid suspended after last July’s military coup. The omnibus bill includes a few […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

Top News: First Day of Referendum Voting Marked by Violence

By MENASource

Egyptians will vote on a draft constitution on Tuesday and Wednesday in a referendum seen by the interim government as a stepping stone towards democracy, but by opponents as illegitimate. Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawy issued a statement that the constitution is going smoothly without incidents, but incidents of violence and clashes have marked the first day of […]

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

The War of Attrition for a Yes Vote

By Mohamed El Dahshan

In the middle of a relentless state campaign pushing for a ‘Yes’ vote on the new constitution put forward in a national referendum today and tomorrow, it is clear that the state has all but given up any pretenses of a democratic process.

North Africa Political Reform

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

Top News: Violence on First Day of Referendum Leaves up to Seven Dead

By EgyptSource

Egyptians will vote on a draft constitution on Tuesday and Wednesday in a referendum seen by the interim government as a stepping stone towards democracy, but by opponents as illegitimate. 

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

The New Draft Constitution Part IV: Social and Economic Rights

By Yussef Auf

Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the new draft constitution trumpeted by its supporters is its stipulation that the state is required to increase government spending on education, healthcare, higher education and scientific research. Article 18 of the draft stipulates that, “the state is required to allocate a rate for government spending on […]

North Africa Political Reform

New Atlanticist

Jan 14, 2014

Ariel Sharon: Influential in Death

By New Atlanticist

“Written on every page of Israel’s history, in ink and in blood, is the name Ariel Sharon,” notes Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States. Even following Sharon’s death January 11, the former soldier and prime minister “will influence the future, as Israelis consider their options” in the event that US-led diplomacy fails […]

Israel

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

EconSource Headlines- January 14, 2014

By EconSource

Follow the latest in economic news and developments about the Arab transition countries. 

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

Voting on the Tunisian Constitution

By Duncan Pickard

Something remarkable is happening this week in Tunisia. The National Constituent Assembly is in the final stages of adopting a new constitution, the first of the Arab Spring and, indeed, the first in the Arabic-speaking world written democratically and not under the influence of a dictator or foreign power. In a spectacle rarely seen anywhere […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

Egypt’s Constitutional Referendum [Liveblog January 14]

By EgyptSource

With polling stations opening across Egypt and voting underway in the constitutional referendum, keep up with live updates on EgyptSource here.

North Africa Political Reform

New Atlanticist

Jan 14, 2014

Egyptians, Divided Again, Vote on a Constitution

By New Atlanticist

Millions of Egyptians voted this week on a new constitution, a referendum that may help decide whether the country of 80 million people – for centuries a fulcrum of the Arab world – might return soon to a semblance of political stability. Several parties boycotted the poll, the first nationwide vote of any kind since the […]

North Africa Political Reform