North Africa

Shuffling Cabinets: Reproducing Authoritarian Traditions

By Amr Hamzawy

As Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb’s new cabinet is a few days into its role, it is clear that no explanation will be offered by officials, whether from the interim president, the prime minister, or others, for the former cabinet’s resignation. This, together with media coverage of the resignation, has been reminiscent of a pre-January 2011 […]

Egypt’s Presidential Elections Law: A Breakdown

By Mai El Sadany

Bringing Egypt one step closer to achieving its transitional roadmap, on March 8, 2014, the Presidency issued the final version of its Presidential Elections Law. Although a date for the elections has not yet been set, the law clarifies a number of important requirements and guidelines for presidential candidates, as well as the nomination and […]

A Drop of Light in a Sea of Darkness

By Mohammad Tolba

At the end of the second day at a conference in Beirut, I tried to avoid any distressing news as has been my habit for a long time if I want to sleep through the night, nightmare-free. I tried to steer clear of the story of the young hikers lost in a blizzard on St. […]

What Mexico Can Teach Tunisia on Electoral Gender Parity

By Cory Siskind and Duncan Pickard

Tunisia’s new constitution tackles a recurring problem in republican politics: disproportionately low representation of women in national assemblies—a fact worth considering today on International Women’s Day.

Dispatch: Libya’s Rome Conference

By Karim Mezran

Libya’s international partners and allies gathered in Rome yesterday in a show of support for the North African country’s transition to democracy since Qaddafi’s ouster in 2011.

Dispatch from Cairo’s Courts: The Jazeera Trial

By Bel Trew

It was the moment the Egyptian courtroom had been waiting for: the evidence proving three jailed Al-Jazeera English journalists were involved in terrorist activity. It took almost two hours for the presiding judge Mohamed Nagi to inventory the contents of the hotel room of the “Marriot terror cell”, the nickname given by local media to […]

The Face of Egypt’s Educational Flaws

By Jayson Casper

Education in Egypt has long been criticized, a fact recognized by the authors of the new constitution. Articles 19, 21, and 23 oblige the government to spend four percent of its gross national product on public education, two percent on higher education, and one percent on scientific research. These targets must be met, according to […]

Tunisia’s Next Chapter

The Nexus Between Politics, Economy, and Security Tunisians made a critical leap in solidifying the country’s path to democratic transition as they approved a new constitution based on general consensus between different parties and factions across the country.  In light of these developments, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a roundtable discussion […]

Libya’s Parallel Tracks Could Avert a Train Wreck

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

For months now, Libya has found itself in a deteriorating security situation that hampers political progress. Since the revolution in 2011, Libyan authorities and their international partners regarded the country’s security challenges as the source of the problem rather than a symptom of deeply rooted political woes.