MENASource

Aug 22, 2019

Tunisia could help enforce Libya’s arms embargo

By Keith Jones

In 2020, when Tunisia begins its two-year term as non-permanent member of the Security Council, the country will have the biggest opportunity to influence international affairs since becoming a democracy in 2011. In response to the appointment, Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui declared “Tunisia will be the voice of Africa and the Arab world…Trying to […]

Libya

MENASource

Aug 22, 2019

Do Arabs want democracy?

By Richard LeBaron and Leah Hickert

Decades of arguments and analysis continue to discuss whether Arab citizens actually want democracy, whether they are “ready” for it, if appropriate conditions exist for democratic rule, and so on. Fortunately, two recent polls offer answers to some of these questions. Their results demonstrate how important Arabs consider the pursuit of democracy to be relative to other national priorities.

Democratic Transitions Middle East

MENASource

Aug 22, 2019

The Gulf’s economic development is going digital

By Rachel Furlow

Efforts toward economic development among Arab Gulf states are turning digital. Artificial intelligence, financial technology, and technology-based businesses are increasingly considered the most auspicious approach in moving Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states away from oil and gas and toward diversified and sustainable economies.

The Gulf

MENASource

Aug 22, 2019

How the EU can save Tunisia

By Iyad Yousef

The Tunisian presidential and parliamentary elections in 2014 marked the beginning of a new democratic era. In the aftermath of the first wave of the Arab Spring, Tunisia remains the only country to have successfully transitioned from an authoritarian to a democratic government.

North Africa

IranSource

Aug 11, 2019

‘Maximum pressure’ campaign is bolstering Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

By Pia Hecher

The Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and full re-imposition of sanctions against Iran have fueled the nationalist and anti-imperialist ideology that has become central to the mission of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Iran Security & Defense

IranSource

Aug 9, 2019

Iran’s Nationality Law Bill highlights challenges for legislative reform

By Tara Sepehri Far

A long-awaited bill that would allow the children of Iranian women married to foreign spouses to obtain citizenship for the first time hangs in the balance. Iran’s elected executive and legislative branches have advanced this bill, which would change the lives of thousands of Iranians.

Iran

IranSource

Aug 7, 2019

Why Germany resoundingly rejected joining a US-led mission against Iran

By Gert Hilgers

On July 31, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced Germany’s refusal to join a US-led military mission to safeguard the international shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian aggression and criticized what he called America’s “maximum tension” approach.

European Union Germany

IranSource

Aug 5, 2019

Blood money decision advances women’s rights in Iran

By Tahereh Hadian-Jazy

In early June, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld a law deciding that blood money—compensation paid to relatives for the death or injury of a family member—would be equal between men and women and no longer would a woman’s compensation be worth half of a man’s.

Iran

IranSource

Aug 1, 2019

Sanctioning Iran’s top diplomat increases chance for US-Iran war

By Barbara Slavin

Running out of targets for sanctions, the Trump administration has now put Iran’s chief diplomat on its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons.

Iran

IranSource

Jul 31, 2019

The IRGC should be held accountable for rights abuses

By Gissou Nia

Up until recently, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was an organization relatively unknown to the American public. However, with the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran threatening to boil over into actual military confrontation, and the IRGC’s announcements of downing an American drone and seizing oil tankers, the increasing references to this group in the mainstream news and on social media may soon make it a household name.

Human Rights Iran
Load More

Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

The Atlantic Council’s work on social, economic and human development issues in the Middle East honors the legacy of Rafik Hariri and his life’s mission to unlock the human and economic potential of the Arab world.

Explore more