With curated multimedia series focused on hard hitting issues such climate change as well as current events, MENASource seeks to explore all facets of life in the region as affected by political, security, economic, and cultural issues.

Of particular focus and interest are the minorities, women, and the youth populations across the region and how they are affected by the changing environments.

The views expressed in MENASource are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Former Presidential Candidate Khaled Ali Referred to Trial Amid Wave of Arrests in Egypt

MENASource
Jul 7, 2025

Opportunity knocks on Netanyahu’s US visit after Israel-Iran war

Prevailing circumstances—albeit fraught with barriers—present the opportunity for all sides to declare victory.

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Former Presidential Candidate Khaled Ali Referred to Trial Amid Wave of Arrests in Egypt

MENASource
Jul 7, 2025

Unpacking Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court chaos

By
Safwan al-Amin

Regardless of the reasons behind initial mass resignations, the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Supreme Court is serious.

Iraq
Middle East

Former Presidential Candidate Khaled Ali Referred to Trial Amid Wave of Arrests in Egypt

MENASource
Jun 26, 2025

Dispatch from Damascus: Church attack shows transition’s fragility

By
Ibrahim Al-Assil

The bombing at Mar Elias Church is more than an isolated tragedy. It is a signal that Syria’s transition remains vulnerable to sabotage.

Democratic Transitions
Middle East

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Content

MENASource

May 30, 2017

Former Presidential Candidate Khaled Ali Referred to Trial Amid Wave of Arrests in Egypt

By Dalia Rabie

Lawyer and former presidential candidate, Khaled Ali, was sentenced to trial Wednesday in light of a complaint filed against him for public indecency. Ali was summoned for investigation and detained overnight on Tuesday amid a wave of arrests targeting members of political parties and groups over the past week.

North Africa

MENASource

May 30, 2017

Why the 2017 Iranian Election Matters

By Mariam Elatouabi

 The 2017 Iranian presidential election could be mainly summarized by the many images of Iranians lining up outside the polling stations and the overall enthusiasm and fervor sparked by the short yet dynamic campaign and re-election of the pragmatic Hassan Rouhani. Hassan Rouhani won a second term with fifty-seven percent of the votes, almost seven […]

Iran

MENASource

May 25, 2017

The Barak al-Shati Massacre Shows a Weakened UN-Supported Government and a Fractured Country

By Hani Shennib

On May 18, militias belonging to the Misratan Third Force and its affiliates launched an attack on the Libyan National Army (LNA) in Barak al-Shati, an airport base in the Libyan province of Fezzan, and killed 141 Libyan army personnel and civilians, according to LNA sources. Many were unarmed and were shot in the head […]

Libya

MENASource

May 23, 2017

Tactical Lessons from the Ejection of ISIS from Sirte

By Dr Alia Brahimi and Jason Pack

In December 2016, ISIS was ejected from Sirte by a coalition of forces allied to the UN-backed government. US airstrikes and special operations by western forces were integral to the campaign and, combined, provided the tipping point. This article proposes three tactical lessons from the campaign – which, of course, contain within them strategic implications. 

Libya

MENASource

May 18, 2017

Governing Egypt: Cohesion and Consolidation

By Dr. H.A. Hellyer

A little over a year ago, it was still possible to speak of the ‘regimen’ of Egyptian president Sisi’s ‘non-regime.’ Power was dispersed, disparate, and given to erratic bursts of energy, that had far more to do with localised and internal disputes, than to an overarching directive from a cohesive chief governor.

North Africa Political Reform

MENASource

May 17, 2017

The Future of the Islamic State: Less Territory, More Brutality

By Belal Alaa

The Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) is a radical organization with vast capacity for recruitment and cultural domination – yet lacks its own literature, even a zealous, superficial manifesto. That is not a mistake or an oversight: the organization simply doesn’t need one. Daesh did not need to sow the seeds for the cultural dominance […]

North Africa

MENASource

May 16, 2017

Strategic Lessons from the Ejection of ISIS from Sirte

By Dr Alia Brahimi and Jason Pack

Though accompanied by curiously little fanfare, the Obama administration’s most significant victory against the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) came not in Iraq or Syria, but in Libya. After eight months of fighting, the coastal city of Sirte was ‘liberated’ in December 2016, by a coalition of forces allied to the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

Libya

MENASource

May 15, 2017

Turkey’s Post-Referendum Economy

By Merve Hande Akmehmet

Throughout the referendum campaign, President Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) promised to move the economy back to the top of their agenda. This was easier said than done, as the field dynamics changed drastically from 2002. During the AKP’s first twelve years of governing, Turkey was a strong EU candidate, with better […]

Turkey

MENASource

May 11, 2017

Progress on Gender Equality in the Gulf but More Must Be Done

By MENASource

As the wealth of Arab states in the Gulf has increased over the past few decades, there has been a dramatic rise in parity between the education levels of men and women, with more women entering institutes of higher education, studying in Western countries, and entering the workforce, according to women leaders from the Gulf […]

MENASource

May 10, 2017

Factbox: Algeria’s Parliamentary Election

By Elissa Miller and Husayn Hosoda

On May 4th, Algerians went to the polls to cast their ballots in the country’s parliamentary elections. The ruling coalition of the National Liberation Front or Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) and the National Rally for Democracy (RND) emerged victorious, respectively winning 164 and ninety-seven of the 462 seats in the national assembly.

North Africa
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