North Africa

Not My Brotherhood’s Keeper: The Fallacy of Crushing Egypt’s Chief Islamist Group

By Amro Ali

By the time philosopher Hannah Arendt penned the words in her 1970 work On Violence: “The means used to achieve political goals are more often than not of greater relevance to the future world than the intended goals,” a generation of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood transitioning into the Anwar Sadat era were reeling from the “means” […]

Decentralization in Libya

By Duncan Pickard

Questions of decentralization pervade policy debates in Libya. After decades of harsh and highly centralized rule under Muammar Qaddafi, policymakers, scholars, and civil-society activists are contemplating how to unpack state authority to empower cities and regional development.

Islamic Law in the Libyan Constitution: Beyond “A” and “The”

By Duncan Pickard

The debate about the role of Islam in new constitutions in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt has begun with the formulation of the role of Islamic sharia in lawmaking: should Islamic sharia be the source, the principal source, or a source among sources of legislation?

This Week in Egypt – September 29, 2013

By Amira Mikhail

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

An Eye on Egypt’s Amended Constitution: Identity Articles and the Nour Party

Continuing EgyptSource’s constitutional coverage, in this installment we look at the the projected timeline, statements made about the referendum, debates over whether or not to draft a new constitution or amend the existing one, debates over the identity articles in the constitution, and the Salafi Nour Party’s involvement in the committee. 

An Eye on Egypt’s Amended Constitution: Committees and Bylaws

At the beginning of September, the fifty-member committee tasked with amending the 2012 constitution was announced with a presidential decree. The committee began its work on September 8, tackling the constitution that had been amended by a ten-person legal committee. The ten person committee, formed of six judges and four constitutional law professors, completed their […]

Egypt’s Minimum Wage Hike: More Populism

By Mohsin Khan and Svetlana Milbert

The installation of the transitional government headed by Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi gave hope to Egyptians that the new technocratic economic team would turn the Egyptian economy around. The Beblawi government, with renowned economists like Finance Minister Ahmed Galal and Planning Minister Ashraf al Araby, was expected to reverse the downward spiral the economy was […]

EADS Head Says EU Lacks Clear Security Policy

By Daniel Michaels, Wall Street Journal

European policy on foreign affairs and security is less coherent now than at any point since the Cold War ended, widening a military gap with the U.S.

NATO Secretary General Holds Talks with Libya, Turkey

By NATO

The Alliance remains open to help the Libyan government rebuild its security sector, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan