Middle East

YemenSource | UNHCR Chief Says 50% of Yemenis Need Urgent Assistance

By YemenSource

Johannes van der Klaauw,  UNHCR Yemen Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator, said that the country is in need of about $592 million as an emergency humanitarian fund to respond to the humanitarian crisis. “About 13 million Yemenis are unable to access clean and safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Moreover, about 10 million Yemenis are unable […]

Libya Cannot, and Should Not, Please Them All

By MENASource

Amidst political stagnation, massive security concerns, and an economic mudslide, Libya faces one of its most sensitive periods in its transition to a stable democracy. Despite international support, the dangers inherent in the country’s struggle to move forward will not be resolved unless the fundamental problem of appeasement is addressed.

The Search for Lebanon’s President

By Matt Nash

The most important question underlying Lebanon’s presidential election is to what extent certain Lebanese parties—and their foreign backers—want to confront Hezbollah. It will not be answered by May 25, when the current president’s term expires, and will be largely influenced by regional developments, particularly the war in neighboring Syria.

Libya’s Faustian Bargains: Breaking the Appeasement Cycle

Many Libya observers cite the Qaddafi-era legacy of weak institutions and the conduct of the 2011 revolutionary war as key obstacles to the country’s democratic transition. The new Libyan authorities’ policy of appeasement, however, is just as much a factor in undermining political progress. On Monday, May 5, 2014, the Rafik Hariri Center for the […]

Syria: No Cogent Alternatives

By Frederic C. Hof

In its May 4, 2014 editorial “President Obama and the World,” The New York Times employed a customary administration talking point in an otherwise balanced and even critical review of the president’s foreign policy stewardship, including his handling of the Syria crisis: “His critics are inconsistent in their philosophies [i.e. some want airstrikes, some want more weapons […]

The Week in Egypt [May 5, 2014]

By Daniel Stoker

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

Libya’s Faustian bargains: Breaking the appeasement cycle

By Karim Mezran, Jason Pack, and Mohamed Eljarh

A new Atlantic Council report examines the threats to Libya’s stability, provides a detailed mapping of the militia landscape, and details policy options for the Libyan government and its international partners. In Libya’s Faustian Bargains: Breaking the Appeasement Cycle, the authors attribute the cycle of violence, intractable political stalemate, and weakened economy to the Libyan […]

The Death Sentence: The Consequences of Taking the Wrong Path [Part I]

By Yussef Auf

A new chapter in the discourse of Egypt’s revolution, post-July 3rd, has seen hundreds of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood sentenced to death. With Mohamed Morsi’s removal from power, the political situation has spun out of control. What began as mere political differences has transformed into violent confrontations.  Egypt has been pulled into a cycle […]