Programs

Middle East Programs

Working with our allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

Libya

Content

Italian frigate Carlo Bergamini, Oct. 25, 2011

NATOSource

Apr 27, 2015

Italy’s New Defense White Paper Calls for Military Leadership in the Mediterranean

By Tom Kington, Defense News

Italy’s new defense white paper, its first in 13 years and which calls for Italian military leadership in the Mediterranean, has made a timely debut just as European leaders debate how to combat trafficking in the region.

Italy North Africa

MENASource

Apr 27, 2015

Sisi Pulls the Plug on the Religious Debate

By Khaled Dawoud

Over the past two weeks, Egyptians were not occupied with the daily terrorist attacks in Cairo, Sinai and elsewhere in which dozens were killed, or with regional wars in Yemen, Libya, and Syria. Instead, the heated debate on the airwaves and in newspapers was over a call by a prominent journalist for Egyptian women to […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 27, 2015

Egypt’s Virtual Fight Against Terrorism

By MENASource

When one thinks of cybercrime, thoughts typically veer toward identity and information theft or hacking and sabotage of websites—but the Egyptian government has taken it a step further. This month, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s cabinet sent a draft sent a cybercrime bill to the State Council for review.

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 24, 2015

Efforts to Fight Extremism in Education Miss the Point

By Ursula Lindsey

On April 13, photos circulated in the Egyptian media of a book-burning ceremony. Several Ministry of Education officials can be seen in the pictures standing in a school courtyard, holding Egyptian flags and watching while a small pile of books turn to ashes in front of them. The books, reportedly from the school library, all […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 24, 2015

Egypt’s Draft Cybercrime Law Undermines Freedom of Expression

By Ragab Saad

In 2007, blogger Karim Amer was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of insulting Islam and the president. It was the first instance in which Egyptian authorities targeted an individual on charges relating to online freedom of expression. Over the years, the public debate on online freedoms has grown, prompted by the advent […]

North Africa

In the News

Apr 23, 2015

Eljarh: The View From Libya, Ground Zero in the Migrant Crisis

By Mohamed Eljarh

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Mohamed Eljarh writes for Foreign Policy on the human trafficking crisis in Libya that led to the deadliest tragedy ever in the Mediterranean when more than eight hundred migrants headed for Europe died in a single incident last week:

Libya

MENASource

Apr 23, 2015

Tales of Blasphemy in Egypt

By Ishak Ibrahim

Dr. Mahmoud Dahroug, a man of over sixty, lives in a constant state of suspense, fearing he will be arrested to serve a five-year prison sentence issued against him late last year for being a Shiite. Most of his acquaintances have distanced themselves from him, and Dahroug spends his time reading and surfing the Internet […]

North Africa

Issue Brief

Apr 21, 2015

Tunisia’s new constitutional court

By Duncan Pickard

January 2014 became a milestone of Arab democracy when Tunisia adopted the first democratic Arab constitution drafted outside the influence of the military or a foreign power. In “Tunisia’s New Constitutional Court,” Duncan Pickard, a Nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, takes up the next step for the […]

Democratic Transitions Human Rights

MENASource

Apr 20, 2015

Q&A: What Changes have been made to Egypt’s Electoral Laws?

By Ali Mohamed

Egypt’s parliamentary elections, originally scheduled to be held in March, have been on indefinite hold since the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled two of the parliamentary elections laws unconstitutional. A committee tasked with amending the three electoral laws regulating the elections—the Parliamentary Constituencies Law, the Political Rights Law, and the Parliamentary Elections Law—was formed by Prime […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 16, 2015

Washington Should Demand Accountability from Libya’s Beleaguered Parliament

By Asma Yousef Magariaf

With seven months left in its mandate, Libya’s House of Representatives (House) in Tobruk has sent a high-level delegation to Washington this week. Critics of the House continue to demand greater accountability from Libya’s parliament amid mounting concerns of incompetence and corruption as Libya faces a growing threat from the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) […]

Libya

Experts