North Africa

The Libyan economy after the revolution: Still no clear vision

By Mohsin Khan and Karim Mezran

In the latest issue brief from the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center, authors Mohsin Khan and Karim Mezran evaluate the Libyan economy and progress since popular uprisings in February 2011 and the eventual ouster of the Muammar Qaddafi regime. Virtually all economic activity, especially oil production (the mainstay of the Libyan economy) witnessed a dramatic […]

Fighting Lions and Brothers in Mansoura

By Eric Knecht

In the summer of 2011 Sayed al-Essawi, an Egyptian man claiming superhuman strength, briefly made international news when he challenged a lion to a death match. The bout—which al-Essawi described as a means to revive Egyptian tourism and prove that man is stronger than lion—was anticlimactic. With cameras rolling, Essawi shuffled around an oversized cage […]

Top News: Egypt Backs Away from Plan to Dissolve Muslim Brotherhood

By EgyptSource

Egypt should not ban the Muslim Brotherhood or exclude it from politics after the army’s overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, the interim prime minister said on Tuesday, reversing his previous stated view.

Is Libya Finally Walking the Walk?

By Karim Mezran

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan has announced the launch of a national dialogue initiative to address some of the most important challenges hindering the country’s progress toward a pluralistic and transparent political system.

Consent and Legitimacy

By David Johnson

This article should begin with the explicit acknowledgement that the author, as you might have guessed on seeing the byline, is not Egyptian. Thus, it is inherently that much more dangerous, as an outsider, to speak about what it seems the Egyptian people want. Of course, given the limited extent of public opinion polling in […]

The Libyan Economy after the Revolution: Still No Clear Vision

Most headlines out of Libya today are about the political and security crises gripping the country, and little has been said about the state of the economy beyond a recent spate of oil export disruptions. Hariri Center Senior Fellows Mohsin Khan and Karim Mezran recently authored an issue brief evaluating Libya’s underlying structural economic problems […]

Top News: Secularists to Dominate Egypt’s Final Constitution-Drafting Process

By EgyptSource

Informed sources close to the ten-member technical committee tasked with drafting the constitutional amendments revealed to Ahram Online that: “The presidency has already received the names nominated by political, religious, social and economic institutions to form the fifty member committee.” The lists show that secular forces are slated to gain a majority in the fifty member committee

A Sad Melody at the End of the Road

By Ahmed Naje

The time for retreat is past and all the chances to avoid this path have been burned up. The incendiary speeches are escalating from every side and are morphing from incitement to war speeches. The television stations put up the slogan “Egypt is fighting terrorism” written in English and no one tells us who and […]

Ways Out of Political Crisis in Tunisia

By Duncan Pickard

Tunisia is amid its most turbulent political crisis since the revolution that toppled Zine El Abidine Ben Ali over two years ago. A confluence of factors has brought the crisis to a head.

Top News: Prosecutor Refers Espionage Allegations Against Political Activists to State Security

By EgyptSource

Well-known activists and founding members of the April 6 Youth movement Esraa Abdel Fattah and Asmaa Mahfouz are being investigated by the Supreme State Security Prosecution on charges of espionage.