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Event Recap

Mar 28, 2013

Security Sector Reform in Yemen and Libya

By Jason Harmala

In the wake of the Arab Spring and transitions in Yemen and Libya, instability poses challenges for reforming the existing security apparatus. The Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East debated ongoing developments in the security sector in both countries during an event on March 28 featuring Hafez al-Bukari, director of the Yemen Polling Center (YPC) and Fiona Mangan, program officer […]

Libya Yemen

MENASource

Mar 21, 2013

A Thawing of Libyan Politics?

By Karim Mezran and Eric Knecht

Recent developments in Libya suggest an opening in the country’s otherwise deadlocked political process, increasing the likelihood of resolving several key issues holding back the country’s transition. The Muslim Brotherhood, led by Mohamed Sawan, and the National Forces Alliance (NFA), led by Mahmoud Jibril, met on March 14 for what appears to be the start […]

Libya

MENASource

Mar 12, 2013

A Libyan Solution to the Benghazi Affair

By Karim Mezran

John Brennan’s successful appointment as CIA director suggests that the Benghazi incident’s hold on US domestic politics may finally ease up, but its impact inside Libya, and on US-Libya relations, remains as strong as ever. On the eve of Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan’s visit to the United States, there is a strong possibility that […]

Libya United States and Canada

MENASource

Mar 5, 2013

Overcoming Political Polarization in Libya

By Karim Mezran

Recent developments in Libyan politics demonstrate a remarkable regression in terms of both institution-building and security. Unfortunately, the latest political polarization has the potential to make the situation deteriorate further.

Libya

MENASource

Feb 28, 2013

The Politics of Libya’s Political Isolation Law

By Eric Knecht

Libya’s political isolation law is flawed at best and leaves significant room for improvement. The current draft lists 36 categories of individuals deemed unfit for political office given their ties to the previous regime. Category number 14, for example, includes anyone who “assumed the position of administrative manager, ambassador, or general secretary for [embassies] abroad,” […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Feb 15, 2013

Libya Must Be Stabilized

By Jason Pack and Karim Mezran

From Cairo on the Nile to Tunis on the Mediterranean, a political vacuum has descended across North Africa. The Arab Spring ushered in new freedoms, but it also weakened existing state structures and unleashed a cultural and political free-for-all, favorable to mobilization, assassinations and propagation of extremist ideology. The region’s newly elected governments are rapidly […]

Libya

MENASource

Feb 12, 2013

Dispatch from Tripoli: Tension in Anticipation of February 17

By Karim Mezran

Libyans are anxiously anticipating what might happen this week, on February 17, the second anniversary of the Libyan uprising; the streets are tense and the government is preparing for the worst. Libyan officials are worried that citizens upset with the poor performance of the government, Qaddafi elements seeking to destabilize the country, and Cyrenaican federalists […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Feb 4, 2013

Libya’s Spheres of Bad Influence

By Karim Mezran

The tragic events unfolding in North Africa have brought to the attention of the West a reality that has been long underestimated and neglected: the rapid collapse of law and order in the countries that went through the revolts of the so-called Arab spring. Western countries have relied on the hope that new governments across […]

Libya NATO

MENASource

Jan 28, 2013

Yet Another Reason National Reconciliation in Libya Cannot Wait

By Karim Mezran

The famous Egyptian analyst and writer Mohamed Hassanein Heikal recently revived an old theory in an interview on Egyptian television: Egypt can claim a right to the fertile and oil-rich lands of the eastern Libyan provinces since millions of Egyptians are descendant from Libyan tribes that once lived on the Egyptian-Libyan border. Heikal also implied […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Jan 24, 2013

The French Mess in Mali and Libya

By Rajan Menon

If you want an illustration of the law of unintended consequences, look no further than Mali. The drama that’s been unfolding there over the past nine months, and that has taken a new turn in the past week, is a perfect illustration.

France Libya

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