Politics & Diplomacy

Visegrad Countries May Turn EU Battlegroup into Permanent V4 Rapid Reaction Force

By Visegrád Group

We, the Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, recognize that current security trends in Europe call for even closer regional defence cooperation and multinational programs deeply rooted in NATO and EU policies.

Afghanistan: Economic Transition and Transformation

Afghanistan has made enormous progress in reconstruction, development, and lifting per capita income. This progress, including steadily rising per capita income, has occurred despite security challenges and decreasing donor commitments from 2002-2013. Paul Ross, head of the International Monetary Fund’s Afghanistan mission, reported these findings at an Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center discussion on Afghanistan’s […]

Gulf States Reactions to the New War in Iraq

By Nouf Al Sadiq

Since the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) took over (and now rebranded) territory in Iraq, Gulf States have been somewhat less alarmed by this new Sunni uprising than they have about other more political factors in the conflict.

EU Leadership Change: What’s at Stake for Europe and the US?

By Marten Van Heuven

Sometime soon, the prospect of the European holiday calendar will force the pace, and the European Union will have a new management team. A new European Commission will alter relations among member states and between them and the European institutions in Brussels. Of course, it will not put an end to the tug and pull […]

Egypt’s Parliamentary Elections Law: A Setback for Democracy

By Khaled Dawoud

Former Egyptian Interim President Adly Mansour had already delivered an emotional farewell speech on June 4, ending nearly one year in office in which he played a largely ceremonial role as he prepared to hand power to the newly elected, former defense minister, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on June 8. However, the next day, Mansour issued […]

Egypt’s New Law for Parliamentary Elections Sets Up a Weak Legislature

By Scott Williamson and Nathan J. Brown

In an uncharacteristically immodest burst of activity, Egypt’s humble and stolid acting president, Adly Mansour, issued a series of last-minute decree-laws before handing authority over to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Some dealt with harassment, preaching, and littering. He still showed caution and restraint in some significant areas—for instance, a set of legislative changes designed to […]

On the Price Egypt Paid, Unacceptable Arrogance, and Major Challenges to Come

By Amr Hamzawy

There is a price to be paid for the absence of democracy and for the way that security practices have dominated the system of rule in Egypt, utterly corrupting political life and subjugating it to the social and party elite such that one must either support these power arrangements, along with their decisions and actions, […]