MENASource brings you up-close to a region at the epicenter of geo-political headlines. It is the Atlantic Council’s hub for in-depth commentary about breaking news, key topics, and trends from our team of experts on the Middle East and North Africa.

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

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Behind the Headlines: Libyans React to a Growing Crisis

MENASource
Jan 14, 2026

Voices from Iran: As rejection of government reaches all-time high, Iranians also wary of foreign intervention

If Trump is serious about peace, stability, and a lasting legacy, the path forward does not run through air strikes or transactional deals with a failing theocracy.

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Behind the Headlines: Libyans React to a Growing Crisis

MENASource
Jan 28, 2026

Trump’s National Security Strategy doesn’t downgrade the Middle East, it redefines it

By
Kristian Alexander

Trump’s strategy is a sophisticated refinement of “America First.” For the Gulf, the implications are significant, but manageable.

Middle East
National Security

Behind the Headlines: Libyans React to a Growing Crisis

MENASource
Jan 13, 2026

Eight questions (and expert answers) on the SDF’s withdrawal from Syria’s Aleppo

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts unpack why violence erupted, what it means for Kurdish safety and integration in Syria, and how Washington is engaging.

Civil Society
Conflict

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Content

MENASource

Mar 4, 2015

Behind the Headlines: Libyans React to a Growing Crisis

By Victoria Heckenlaible

The bloody conflict in Libya has scattered approximately 400,000 people across the country. The burden on Libyans increases every day that warring factions continue to bicker over power and that ISIS is allowed to solidify their foothold. 

Libya

MENASource

Mar 4, 2015

Top News: Militants take over Libya’s Bahi, Mabrouk oilfields; Tripoli responds with airstrikes

By MENASource

Islamist militants took over Libya’s Bahi oil station and the Mabrouk oilfield on Tuesday when security forces guarding the installations were forced to retreat.

MENASource

Mar 4, 2015

Top News: Justice Minister Says Hamas Members in Egypt to Be Arrested, Assets Frozen

By EgyptSource

Hamas members will be arrested and their money and headquarters will be confiscated, Justice Minister Mahfouz Saber said Tuesday, after a court ruling branding the group a terrorist organization. Saber told state media that the government-run committee which has been involved in freezing assets of the now banned Muslim Brotherhood will start to do the […]

MENASource

Mar 4, 2015

Imaginary Obstacles to Democracy in Egypt

By MENASource

While the world accepts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s rule in Egypt, the return and general acceptance of authoritarian tendencies—including a crackdown on human rights and political activists, the promulgation of repressive laws by decree, and the heavy-handed regulation of civil society organizations—has sparked questions surrounding the durability the state-centric culture and indefinite postponement of democracy.

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 4, 2015

EconSource: Egypt’s Cabinet Approves Long-Awaited Investment Law

By EconSource

Egypt’s cabinet approved a long-awaited draft law on investment, aimed at making deals less vulnerable to legal disputes or changes in government and reducing bureaucratic hurdles. The investment law aims to create a “one-stop shop” to make Egypt more attractive to foreign investors. It is also expected to protect investors from changes in the price […]

MENASource

Mar 3, 2015

The Illusions Surrounding the Concept of Democracy in Egypt

By Amr Hamzawy

A number of illusions have surrounded the concept of democracy in Egypt since the 1950s, placing democratic ideas under a kind of cognitive, moral, intellectual, and political “siege” that prevented them from taking root in Egyptian society.  These illusions are among the factors that have allowed authoritarianism to remain entrenched in Egypt for such a […]

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 3, 2015

Top New: Court Orders Media Gag on Morsi’s Qatar Espionage Trial

By EgyptSource

An Egyptian court on Tuesday ordered that the trial session of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and ten others on charges of spying to Qatar be held as a closed session, citing national security concerns.

MENASource

Mar 3, 2015

Top News: The United States will protect Syrian rebels when time comes

By MENASource

The United States will be ready to “protect” mainstream Syrian rebels possibly with air power once they enter into combat, Anti-ISIS Coalition Envoy retired US General John Allen said Monday at an event organized by the Atlantic Council.

MENASource

Mar 3, 2015

The MENA Legitimacy Challenge

By Frederic C. Hof

One of the few academic memories I have from an uninspiring undergraduate career centers on a class in comparative politics. The professor was lecturing on modern—meaning late 1960s—politics in the Middle East. The following words have stayed with me for the better part of a half century: “Ladies and gentlemen, there is one question still […]

Middle East

MENASource

Mar 2, 2015

Top News: Egypt’s March Parliamentary Elections on Hold

By EgyptSource

Egypt’s parliamentary elections are on hold until further review of a ruling on the unconstitutionality of a law defining voter constituencies, the spokesman for the Higher Electoral Commision (HEC) said on Sunday. The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) ruled earlier in the day that Article 3 the Constituencies Law issued by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was “unconstitutional,” […]

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