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

Nov 19, 2014

US-Egypt Aid Relationship: A Work in Progress

By MENASource

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of the US-Egypt relationship lies in the assistance package provided to Egypt since its signing of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

North Africa

MENASource

Nov 19, 2014

Tunisians Abroad Miss Historic Votes

By Thalia Beaty

Tunisians will return to the polls on November 23 to choose a new president in the country’s first transparent election for a head of state. The vote comes just a month after parliamentary elections gave a nationalist, secular party, Nidaa Tounes, a mandate to form the next government.

North Africa

MENASource

Nov 17, 2014

Civil Society’s Fundamental Role in Egypt

By Amr Hamzawy

Executive authorities in countries around the world clamp down on civil society organizations when they wish to delude citizens about what’s really going on in society.  These authorities find it particularly convenient to suppress civil society when seeking to ensure silence about the ways in which the rule of law is being violated and rights […]

North Africa

MENASource

Nov 17, 2014

What’s Next for Tunisia’s Foreign Policy?

By Alexander Nisetich

Tunisia’s interim government will soon step down, to be replaced by a president and legislature that will serve for the next five years. While the incoming government is not yet complete, its policies will differ significantly from the departing interim authorities, and the contrast may be sharpest in foreign policy.

North Africa

MENASource

Nov 17, 2014

What’s Happening with US Military Aid to Egypt, Part II: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Foreign Military Financing for Egypt

By Amy Hawthorne

Appropriations laws, which fund US federal government operations and programs such as foreign assistance, are byzantine documents to be sure.  But they matter a lot in US-Egypt ties because of the central role that aid, especially military aid, plays in the relationship.  The 2014 appropriations law includes democracy conditions on Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for […]

North Africa

MENASource

Nov 14, 2014

Yes, Libya Can Still Be Saved

By Mustafa A.G. Abushagur and Karim Mezran

The Constitutional Chamber of the Libyan Supreme Court ruled on November 6 the invalidity of the seventh amendment of the Constitutional Declaration, containing what is known as the February Commission’s proposals, which was approved by General National Congress on March 11, 2014.

Libya

MENASource

Nov 13, 2014

A Way Out for Libya

By H.A. Hellyer

The Libyan quagmire has worsened. Last week, the country’s Supreme Court compromised the standing of portions of the elections law that led to the instituting of Libya’s elected parliament, the House of Representatives.

Libya

In the News

Nov 12, 2014

Eljarh on Suicide Bombing in Libya

By Mohamed Eljarh

The Financial Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Mohamed Eljarh on increased violence in Libya:

Libya

In the News

Nov 10, 2014

Mezran on Ongoing Conflict in Libya

By Karim Mezran

Voice of America quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Karim Mezran on Libya’s fractured society three years after the ouster of former President Moammar Gadhafi: 

Libya

MENASource

Nov 10, 2014

Libya: A Diplomat’s Dilemma

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

As UN officials and Western envoys shuttle back and forth trying to cobble together a robust negotiations process to resolve the Libyan conflict, the North African country’s Supreme Court—the last standing state institution with some semblance of neutrality and credibility—issued a verdict declaring the elected, internationally-recognized parliament invalid. The move was presumably made in a […]

Libya

Experts