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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No Super Power for Old Men

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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No Super Power for Old Men

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

No Super Power for Old Men

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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MENASource

Oct 17, 2013

No Super Power for Old Men

By Haytham Tabesh

US impotence in the Syria crisis has severely eroded the image of the US as a meaningful super power to Middle East allies. As the United States pursues a diplomatic venture with the Geneva II talks, inaction in wake of daily air and artillery strikes on civilian populations undermine its role as a supporter of […]

MENASource

Oct 16, 2013

Protest Law Awaiting Presidential Approval Receives Mixed Reactions

By EgyptSource

With Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawy’s cabinet finalizing a new protest law that has been passed on to interim president, Adly Mansour, for his approval, reactions to the draft have varied. From within the cabinet itself, Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa-Eldin fought the law/ Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that a verbal altercation took place between Bahaa-Eldin and […]

North Africa

MENASource

Oct 16, 2013

Top News: Protest Law Causes Disagreement within Cabinet

By EgyptSource

A draft law organizing protests is still causing disagreements, even within the Cabinet that is set to pass it. The law, drafted by the Ministry of Justice, imposes several restrictions on demonstrations that were slammed by advocates of freedom of expression, but also considered necessary by others who say the country is at a security risk and […]

MENASource

Oct 16, 2013

Top News: Egypt’s Justice Ministry to Draft Anti-Terrorism Law, Egyptians Reject Protest Law

By MENASource

Egypt’s Ministry of Justice is due to start discussions with the National Council for Human Rights, as well as other rights groups, to draft an anti-terrorism law “specifying terrorism crimes and penalties facing the perpetrators,” state-owned Al-Ahram daily reported on Wednesday, as civil groups denounced Tuesday the draft protest law.

MENASource

Oct 16, 2013

The Struggle for the Public Sphere: The State versus Society

By Mohamed Elgohari

Since the foundation of the first republic in 1952, Egypt’s rulers, regardless of name or political orientation, have struggled to distance the Egyptian people from politics and strip its individuals from the ability to act independently from the state. To ensure its success, the state nationalized the public and political spheres, seeing to it that […]

MENASource

Oct 15, 2013

Top News: Latest Mediation between Islamists and Egypt Government Reaches Stalemate

By EgyptSource

Efforts by Islamist figure Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd to mediate between the Muslim Brotherhood and interim government appear to have reached an impasse Ahram Online reported on Monday.

MENASource

Oct 15, 2013

Top News: Al-Qaeda Says September Attack Targeted Drone Base; Tuesday al-Qaeda Attack Kills Two

By MENASource

The Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda said on Monday its attack on a Yemeni army base last month targeted an operations room used by the United States to direct drone strikes against militants, and it threatened more such assaults.

MENASource

Oct 15, 2013

The Week in Egypt – October 14, 2013

By Amira Mikhail

Catch up on the latest out of Egypt every week, with analysis, news updates, photos, videos, and more.

MENASource

Oct 15, 2013

Syria: Geneva at What Price?

By Frederic C. Hof

The leader of the Syrian National Council, Mr. George Sabra, has announced that his group will leave the opposition Syrian National Coalition if the latter takes part in a Geneva peace conference under conditions currently prevailing in Syria.

Syria

MENASource

Oct 11, 2013

Another Coup, a Salafi Hope

By Jayson Casper

In order to reverse a coup d’état, Egypt needs a coup d’état. This, in brief, is the solution to Egypt’s crisis offered by Hani Fawzi, general secretary of the Cairo-based Salafi Asala Party. It must be prompted, however, by massive protests. No longer simply the domain of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis, the anti-coup movement […]

North Africa
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