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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Of Islamists, Elections, and the Economy: A Closer Look

MENASource
Jul 12, 2025

Netanyahu’s trip to Washington ends with conflicting signals

The moment of truth may yet come when Trump’s leverage on Netanyahu, which is considerable, may not be expressed only in private settings.

Read More

Of Islamists, Elections, and the Economy: A Closer Look

MENASource
Jul 17, 2025

Facing scarcity, the Gulf’s ‘smart water’ future lies in desalination

By
Hany Ghanem

Desalination-enhanced regenerative data centers can help tackle the challenges of limited water resources and the post-oil economic shift.

Climate Change & Climate Action
Energy & Environment

Of Islamists, Elections, and the Economy: A Closer Look

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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MENASource

Dec 7, 2011

Of Islamists, Elections, and the Economy: A Closer Look

By Michele Dunne

Tom Friedman’s column in The New York Times on December 7 supports an argument—that liberal forces in Egypt did less well than Islamists in the first round of elections because their anti-military protests had alienated “some more traditional-minded Egyptian voters, who still cling to the army as a source of stability”—that is emerging as part […]

MENASource

Dec 7, 2011

News Update: December 7, 2011

By Mara Revkin

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party claims to have won 34 of the 52 individual seats that were contested in the runoff round on December 5-6, raising the FJP’s projected share of parliamentary seats to nearly two thirds. Meanwhile, the SCAF issued a decree on December 7 delegating presidential powers to Prime Minister Kamal […]

MENASource

Dec 7, 2011

Is Egypt Turning Islamist?

By Ahmed Morsy

In retrospect, it’s almost a miracle that last week’s elections went forward as planned with massive turnout and relatively few irregularities, despite predictions of violence and calls for postponing elections after a week of lethal clashes in downtown Cairo and other parts of the country.  While Egyptians are relieved that elections were conducted relatively fairly […]

MENASource

Dec 6, 2011

Brotherhood Denies Presidential Aspirations, Again

By Mara Revkin

As Egyptian liberals and U.S. policy-makers nervously eye the prospect of an Islamist-dominated parliament, the Muslim Brotherhood’s leaders are trying to assuage fears that the group aspires to hold a monopoly on political power. In a televised interview on December 6, Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie reiterated his previous pledge that the Brotherhood will not field […]

MENASource

Dec 6, 2011

Poised for a Parliamentary Majority, Islamists Shed Restraint

By Magdy Samaan

For decades, Egyptians knew only fraudulent elections under the harsh constraints of Mubarak’s authoritarian rule. Faced with pervasive ballot fraud, violence and intimidation by the repressive security forces, they largely withdrew from the political process, choosing to boycott rather than casts ballots that had no hope of bringing about meaningful change. But in last week’s […]

MENASource

Dec 6, 2011

News Update: December 6, 2011

By Mara Revkin

Voting for the 52 individual seats that were not decided in the first round continued for a second day on December 6. The second round of voting has brought out sharp divisions between rival Islamist parties, which are trading accusations of campaign violations. Twenty-four of the runoff races are between candidates from the Freedom and […]

MENASource

Dec 5, 2011

Women See Bad News in Election Results

By Mara Revkin

Despite anecdotal reports of massive female turnout in Cairo and other governorates, women may very well be the biggest losers of Egypt’s first free and fair elections.  Although 376 female candidates are running for parliament, not a single woman was elected in the first stage of voting on November 28-29. And there is good reason […]

MENASource

Dec 5, 2011

News Update: December 5, 2011

By Mara Revkin

Run-off voting is in progress today, as candidates compete for 52 seats that were not decided in the initial round of voting on December 28-29, in which only 4 candidates won decisive victories. Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri reportedly reconsidered some of his cabinet nominees over the weekend, after several proposed appointments were rejected by the public […]

MENASource

Dec 4, 2011

Election Fever Dampens Enthusiasm for Protests

By Tarek Radwan

"If I see another protester, I swear I’d spit on him," said the exasperated taxi driver, observing a rally to commemorate the martyrs of the revolution in Tahrir Square on December 2. "Would you spit on someone whose brother, sister, or father died while fighting for your rights?" replied my brother, as he rode to […]

MENASource

Dec 4, 2011

First Round Election Results

By Mara Revkin

The High Electoral Commission released official results for the first stage of elections on December 4.  The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) led the polls with 40 percent of the vote and the Salafi Nour Party came in second with 20 percent, followed by the Egyptian Bloc with 15 percent. The Wafd Party won […]

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