MENASource

Syria: Will Geneva Happen? Should it Happen?

By Frederic C. Hof

As preparations continue for an international conference aimed at jump-starting intra-Syrian negotiations to be held in Geneva in mid-June, the prospective value of the initiative is increasingly in doubt. Bashar al-Assad is making it clear to the news media that he intends to stay on and run for president in 2014, something that cannot happen […]

Talk to the Gulf About Leadership

By Richard LeBaron

It is likely that every American president since George Washington has joked with his advisers that he would love to have the absolute power wielded by some of his fellow world leaders. With such authority, he could deal decisively with pesky domestic critics, unruly media, or noisy civil society groups. Occasionally a president has imposed […]

Will Egypt Go Bankrupt?

By Ziad Daoud

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, has already answered the question in the title by declaring that “Egypt will never go bankrupt”. But judging by some of the recent headlines, skeptics are still unconvinced. What does it mean for a country to go bankrupt anyway? And is Egypt really on the brink of financial collapse? 

Top News: Friday Marches Call for Early Presidential Elections

By Egypt Source

Opposition and revolutionary groups are organizing only two marches this Friday, as some figures saying they are reserving their organizational strength for a million-man protest planned for the anniversary of President Mohamed Morsi’s inauguration on 30 June. The main focus of the marches, however, is raising awareness for the Tamarod campaign. GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Judges […]

Islameya Islameya: An Open Letter to the Egyptian People and the Egyptian Administration

By Mohammad Tolba

It is no coincidence that the people who believe TV ads marketing a so called: “magic patch” as a cure for every ailment or pain are the same people addicted to the ‘text-to-win’ contests that carry the promise of a trip to the holy land (‘Umra) in exchange for answering questions such as "What is […]

Egypt’s Growing Judicial Activism Stymies Democratic Consolidation

On May 13, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East held an event to release a new issue brief, Egypt’s Litigious Transition: Judicial Intervention and the Muddied Road to Democracy. Director of the Rafik Hariri Center Michele Dunne moderated a discussion with the author Mahmoud Hamad, who is assistant professor at Drake University and Cairo […]

Top News: Seven Security Officers Kidnapped in Egypt’s Sinai

By Egypt Source

Islamist gunmen abducted seven members of the Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday and want jailed militants released in exchange for the men, security sources said. The gunmen kidnapped the men as they travelled between the towns of al-Arish and Rafah in the early hours of the morning.  GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Court […]

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 […]