MENASource

As the MENA region continues to be the epicenter of news headlines, the Atlantic Council’s MENASource is a hub for thought-provoking and hard-hitting analyses about the latest trends, ideas, and debates. This online publication provides fast reactions and in-depth commentary on breaking news and key regional topics by a diverse team of experts and contributors.

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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Inside Egypt’s electoral alliances

MENASource
Mar 26, 2026

As Iran attacks, the US should provide air defense for Iraqi Kurdistan

Washington faces a choice: Continue to defer to Baghdad’s procedural objections while Iran conducts unimpeded strikes on Kurdish territory or acknowledge the strategic reality and take decisive action.

Read More

Inside Egypt’s electoral alliances

MENASource
Mar 17, 2026

A crisis in Egypt could be a warning sign for the global economy 

By
Khalid Azim

Market watchers should keep an eye on Egypt as an oil shock could cause financial turmoil.

Economy & Business
International Financial Institutions

Inside Egypt’s electoral alliances

MENASource
Mar 11, 2026

Three lessons from Libya for the war in Iran

By
Frank Talbot

Any outside power using force to attain a political outcome must define the end state it seeks, align coalition partners around a shared strategy, and establish credible escalation controls.

Conflict
Iran

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Content

MENASource

Nov 18, 2011

Inside Egypt’s electoral alliances

By Magdy Samaan

Ten months after the January uprising, Egypt’s political scene is more diverse and competitive than ever before, as dozens of new parties ranging in ideology from Salafi to secular seek a place in the post-Mubarak political order. However, only a handful of the more than fifty-registered parties are organized enough to stand a chance at […]

MENASource

Nov 18, 2011

News Update: November 18, 2011

By Mara Revkin

Tens of thousands of protesters converged on Tahrir Square for an Islamist-dominated rally to demand an end to military rule and condemn the supra-constitutional principles proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Selmi. The vast majority of protesters appeared to be Islamists, many of whom were transported to the square from other governorates in buses sponsored by […]

MENASource

Nov 17, 2011

The military’s legitimacy crisis

By Bahaa Hashem

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ (SCAF) performance leading Egypt through the transition to democracy has taken a turn for the worse over the last few months. Gone are the days when the popular chant, “The army and the people are one hand,” was heard by demonstrators everywhere. Tarnished is the image of the […]

MENASource

Nov 17, 2011

News Update: November 17, 2011

By Mara Revkin

Some political parties – including al-Ghad al-Thawra and Tagammu’ – have agreed to support the supra-constitutional principles as long as Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Selmi’s latest revisions are implemented, but most Islamist forces reject the amendments and are still calling for a mass demonstration on November 18. Although the Brotherhood has not yet announced its […]

MENASource

Nov 17, 2011

Working Group on Egypt releases statement on conditioning aid to Egyptian military

By Michele Dunne

Amidst signs that Egypt’s ruling military council is seeking to preserve and expand its political and economic privileges in the post-Mubarak system, journalists, activists and NGOs are facing a repressive crackdown, sectarianism is escalating, and the civilian police force has failed to fully restore security and public order. As the military council continues to resist […]

MENASource

Nov 17, 2011

How will the supra-constitutional principles be amended?

By Michele Dunne

As the threat of a large anti-SCAF demonstration scheduled for Friday November 18 looms, reports are trickling out of a new set of concessions that Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Selmi made after meetings with political parties and prospective presidential candidates over the last few days.  It is not entirely clear what al-Selmi conceded, or whether […]

MENASource

Nov 16, 2011

News Update: November 16, 2011

By Mara Revkin

Several political forces and presidential candidates have reportedly reached an agreement with Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Selmi on amendments to the heavily criticized constitutional principles. The Brotherhood and Islamist groups, however, rejected the agreement and threatened to escalate street protests leading to a “new revolution” on January 25, if the draft document is ratified.

MENASource

Nov 16, 2011

EgyptSource blogger Magdy Samaan speaks on elections and censorship

By Mara Revkin

EgyptSource blogger Magdy Samaan spoke at an event co-hosted by the Hariri Center, the Wilson Center and Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) in Washington announcing the blog’s launch and previewing Egypt’s elections. Michele Dunne, director of the Hariri Center, participated in the discussion with panelists Magdy Samaan and Ibrahim Houdaiby (who joined the conversation […]

MENASource

Nov 15, 2011

News Update: November 15, 2011

By Mara Revkin

The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and other major political forces signed a statement threatening to stage mass protests on November 18 if the SCAF refuses to withdraw its controversial draft constitutional principles by November 16.  Meanwhile, a major court ruling affirmed the right of former NDP members to compete in upcoming elections.  Semi-official […]

MENASource

Nov 15, 2011

Charting Egypt’s New Political Terrain

By Mara Revkin

Jacopo Carbonari has shared via The Arabist a schematic diagram that sheds some much-needed light on the relative ideological orientation of Egypt’s political parties. In addition to positioning the parties along two axes — religious/secular and left/right — the map shows the distribution of parties among the four major coalitions: 1) the FJP-dominated Democratic Alliance; […]

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