Middle East

The Arab Countries in Transition: Three Years On [Video]

By EgyptSource

Following the release of the report, The State of the Arab Transitions, Mirette F. Mabrouk, Deputy Director with the Rafik Hariri Middle East Center, speaks about the Arab countries in transition, and the overall sense of hope resilient that the demands of the uprisings that swept the region will be met. 

The Week in Egypt [March 17, 2014]

By Daniel Stoker

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

Yesterday an Enemy, Today a Friend?

By Amira Mikhail

The nuanced, complicated-nature, and symbolic defeat of a theological state that came with June 30 has left most Christians in Egypt ironically and dangerously excited, hopeful, and confident in the current government and more precisely, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Opportunity Arises to Test a New US Strategy in Syria

By Faysal Itani

Residents of Douma, a rebel-held city of 350,000 in the Ghouta suburbs east of Damascus, have elected a new civilian council. Against great odds—August 2013 chemical weapons attacks, and an ongoing regime siege—a civic culture has somehow survived in Douma.

Lebanon’s Neutrality Toward the Syrian Conflict

After weeks of debate that nearly collapsed the government, Lebanon’s cabinet approved a policy statement on March 14, 2014. The debate focused on Lebanon’s position on the conflict in Syria and the role and future of Hezbollah’s armed militia, over which the March 8 and March 14 alliances disagree. The conclusion of the debate and […]

Egypt’s Prospects for Economic Growth [Video]

By EgyptSource

Following the release of The Economic Consequences of the Arab Spring, Mohsin Khan, senior fellow with the Rafik Hariri Middle East Center, speaks on Egypt’s prospects for economic growth. Khan gives a somewhat optimistic outlook for Egypt’s economic growth due to financing coming from the Gulf countries, which Khan says, is helping the nation stabilize its […]

Libya: A Tanker, a Fallen Prime Minister, and a Transition in Question

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

Months of political wrangling in Libya between an enfeebled government and a fractured legislature culminated this week in a vote by the General National Congress (GNC) to remove Prime Minister Ali Zeidan from office. Zeidan spent much of his tenure on the defensive, accumulating political baggage that stifled any chance of relegitimizing the state. 

Working Group on Defense Industrialization in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Saudi Arabia, which spends more on defense than any other nation in the Middle East (up to 10 per cent of its GDP, which amounts to $21 billion), is the world’s seventh biggest spender in military terms. The United Arab Emirates, the world’s fourth largest arms importer, fields an increasingly capable military, is a regional leader […]