North Africa

The North Africa region, sometimes called the Maghreb, holds strategic and political importance for the United States and Europe with its geographic crossroad between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Destabilized by the tumultuous uprisings of the Arab Spring, the developments in these countries are reasons for concern as well as hope, as different political, security, and economic conditions take shape in each country.

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

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

MENASource

Apr 16, 2015

Timeline: Egypt Faces Near Daily Attacks

By Ali Mohamed

Since the fourth anniversary of January 25 uprising, Egypt has seen an uptick in terror attacks. According to Daily News Egypt, over 1,000 violent incidents took place in the first quarter of 2015, claiming the lives of at least 174 Egyptians and leaving more than 600 injured. In addition to attacks targeting security personnel, an […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 15, 2015

The Militarization of Justice

By Farid Farid

Ahmed al-Araby, 60, is a pensioner from Matariya – a low-income suburb in Cairo that recently witnessed an increase in clashes between Islamist supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi and state security forces. On the four-year anniversary of the January 25 uprising, twelve people were killed in the Cairo district alone, while at least forty-three […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 15, 2015

Tunisia’s Security Sector and Countering Violent Extremism; Part 1: Controlling the Narrative

By Fadil Aliriza

In the wake of the hostage shootout at Bardo Museum in Tunis that left more than twenty dead, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently announced that US military aid to Tunisia would triple to combat “those who threaten the freedom and safety of the nation.”

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 14, 2015

The UNSMIL Draft Agreement and International Engagement with Libya

By Azza K. Maghur

Since UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon nominated Mr. Bernardino Leon as the UN Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in August 2014, stagnant Libyan waters have moved.

Libya

MENASource

Apr 13, 2015

Egypt’s Azhar Flexes its Muscles

By Khaled Dawoud

Egypt’s oldest Islamic establishment, Al-Azhar, came out in full force this week against what it claims is an organized plan to undermine its historic role in representing “moderate Islam.” After an initial complaint to the Free Media Zone Authority asking it to ban a controversial television talk show critical of traditional Islamic schools of thought […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 10, 2015

The War on Egypt’s Human Rights Defenders

By Ragab Saad

In his annual report before the latest session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein criticized the flagrant human rights violations in Egypt, particularly the trials of dozens of political activists and human rights advocates.

North Africa

Experts