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MENASource

May 16, 2013

Libya in Turmoil: From Isolation to Reconciliation

By Karim Mezran

It is difficult to understand, at least from the outside, what is happening in Libya right now. The past several weeks have highlighted the danger and difficulties the country’s feeble political institutions face to manage day-to-day affairs, let alone resolve the most pressing political issues. It now appears that the revolutionary groups that recently besieged ministries […]

MENASource

May 15, 2013

Why the Brotherhood is Not a Political Animal and Why We Need to Stop Treating It as Such

By Mai El Sadany

In analyzing the actions of Egyptian President Morsi and by extension, the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, Western analysts have expended much energy calculating the group’s impending moves and projecting where the ruling party plans to take Egypt. However, these expectations and calculations have largely been built on the false premise that the Brotherhood is an inherently […]

MENASource

May 15, 2013

Top News: Egyptian Judicial Bodies Withdraw from Morsi’s ‘Justice Conference’

By Egypt Source

Egypt’s upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, will discuss a disputed law on the judiciary on 25 May, in a move that opponents of the law have strongly criticized and which has led representatives of the judiciary including the Supreme Judicial Council and the Judges Club  to drop out of a proposed judicial reform conference with President Morsi.  […]

MENASource

May 15, 2013

The Politics of Tunisia’s Final Draft Constitution

By Duncan Pickard

Tunisia’s constitution-drafting process has reached another milestone: the committee coordinating the drafting of the country’s post-authoritarian constitution presented its third and final draft to the National Constituent Assembly on April 22. The draft strikes important compromises that political parties made on the most vexing issues of the process, including the balance of executive powers, the […]

MENASource

May 14, 2013

Top News: White House Official Pledges US Support, Administration Criticizes Action Against Youth Leader

By Egypt Source

In a visit to Cairo, Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East Philip Gordon reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and US support for Egypt’s transition to democracy.  The Obama administration, however, is also blasting Egyptian authorities for detaining a prominent youth movement leader, Ahmed Maher, on possible charges […]

MENASource

May 14, 2013

War and Civil War in Syria

By Faysal Itani

For the third time this year, Israel was able to carry out air strikes in Syria earlier this month without prompting an immediate military response. The reactions of all parties directly affected—Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah—indicated little appetite for a conflict with Israel. This should be of little comfort to US policymakers and the international community, […]

MENASource

May 14, 2013

A Starting Point: The Unfortunate Beliefs of the Ruling Elite

By Amr Hamzawy

It is apparent that, due to culminating political and economic crises, Egypt is losing much of the international support and global public sympathy for its revolution, and popular demand for democracy, social justice and progress. Countries in crisis, even with the same strategic importance as Egypt, gradually lose their international support and sympathy, whether governmental […]

MENASource

May 13, 2013

Freedom to Criticize Under Attack in the Middle East and North Africa

By Hannah Grigg

Leaders in the Middle East and North Africa appear to be increasingly sensitive to criticism by their citizens and more inclined to pursue legal action against critics. Numerous cases have been brought against critics who employ social media, but traditional media is also under pressure. While not attempting to be comprehensive, the table below summarizes […]

MENASource

May 13, 2013

Top News: Egypt Arrests 3 Suspected al-Qaeda Militants

By Egypt Source

Egyptian police arrested three men suspected of planning attacks on targets in Cairo and Alexandria, including a foreign embassy, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim announced Saturday. 

MENASource

May 13, 2013

Jordan’s Economy and Prospects for Stability

By Mohsin Khan and Svetlana Milbert

Two years after the Arab Spring transformed the social and political realities in the Middle East, it appears that Jordan has thus far weathered the wave of revolutions that toppled the authoritarian regimes in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen. When demonstrations reached the Hashemite Kingdom in January 2011, Jordanians called for reform of the political […]