Category: Blogs

Syria: The Moral Imperative

By Frederic C. Hof

At a recent Washington, DC Syria program, a knowledgeable observer—someone who has spent time inside Syria trying to build bridges between warring parties at the local level—said the following: “Those committed to bring down the regime are not committing the resources to do it.”

The Week in Egypt – May 26, 2014

By Daniel Stoker

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

Follow @EgyptSource on Twitter

For the latest on what’s happening with Egypt’s elections, check out @EgyptSource on Twitter or follow along here.

Poroshenko’s Task: Halt Rebellion and Bankruptcy, Then Fix the System

By Irena Chalupa

In declaring victory yesterday as Ukraine’s president-elect, Petro Poroshenko is preparing to take the helm of a country whose economy is broken, its political system dysfunctional, three of its provinces either occupied or terrorized by Russian soldiers or proxy forces. The leaders of its huge, aggressive neighbor bluntly say that Ukraine shouldn’t really exist as […]

Filling the Gaps in the Sisi Campaign

By Sarah El Sirgany

“Is Sisi coming?” women in the back rows of a Shubra El-Kheima hall ask each other enthusiastically. They have gathered for a rally for presidential candidate and former defense minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. The female residents of the middle-income and rural parts of the Qalubiya province are prepared with posters and songs.

Searching for Nasserism in Egypt’s Elections

By Amr Kotb

Are Egypt’s presidential elections a contest between Gamal Abdel Nasser and Gamal Abdel Nasser? Egypt’s two presidential candidates, former defense minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Nasserist politician, Hamdeen Sabbahi have both been likened to Egypt’s second president.

Sisinomics: Is Egypt about to Witness a New Wave of Austerity?

By Tom Rollins

Egyptians are already in the process of voting for their next president, although few are in doubt about who’s going to win. Just in time did Abdel Fattah al-Sisi flesh out plans for his future economic policies, a policy platform which was, until the end of last week, left open to speculation.

Early Challenges for Ukraine’s Next President: Corruption and Russian-led Insurrection

By New Atlanticist

Ukraine’s Poroshenko ‘is His Own Think Tank,’ Confident in Making Decisions As business magnate and former foreign and economy minister Petro Poroshenko claimed victory in Ukraine’s presidential election, Atlantic Council analysts Adrian Karatnycky and Sabine Freizer offered early thoughts on his road ahead. Freizer, a senior fellow at the Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, wrote […]

Europe’s Election: The Roots and the Message of the Anti-EU Vote

By Stefano Stefanini

 The 2014 vote for the European Parliament reflects a European Union at a critical juncture. The voter turnout, at about 43 percent, is the same as in 2009, thus halting its long decline. The traditional parties, the European People’s Party, the Social Democrats, the Liberals, will hold the largest number of seats. Outside the mainstream, […]

Ukraine’s Voters Give a Chance to Poroshenko and Klitschko

By Damon Wilson

Businessman and Boxer Now Must Show They Can Fight Corruption and Govern Effectively Despite the Russian-led separatists’ efforts to disrupt Ukraine’s elections, Ukrainians went to the polls in large numbers and decisively elected Petro Poroshenko as president. Residents of Kyiv decisively elected Vitaliy Klitschko as mayor. These victories are significant for Ukraine’s European prospects. Specifically, […]