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

Event Recap

Oct 1, 2012

Parliament Remade: Egypt’s Shifting Political Forces

By Jason Harmala

“Liberal parties have struggled to find their footing in Egypt’s post-revolution political atmosphere due to inadequate time to form a loyal constituency,” said Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East’s Visiting Fellow, Magdy Samaan, during a roundtable discussion moderated by Hariri Center Director, Michele Dunne, held on October 1.

North Africa

New Atlanticist

Sep 27, 2012

A Yankee Spring in the Middle East

By Sarwar Kashmeri

The United States has earned the thanks of a freer Arab people, but has yet to earn their respect, and for good reason. For over 30 years American taxpayers shelled out over $60 billion in aid to the authoritarian Hosni Mubarak regime in Egypt that jailed its opponents and stifled dissent to keep the country […]

Middle East
North Africa

MENASource

Sep 26, 2012

Embassy Attacks Set the Stage for Moderation or Extremist Momentum

By Karim Mezran and Sarah Wade

The violence and protests taking place across the Middle East have largely been attributed to rage over the anti-Islamic film The Innocence of Muslims, but their impact on the transition and ongoing political power struggle between moderates and extremists may hold broader implications for Western policy. The embassy attacks in Libya and Tunisia are causing […]

Libya
North Africa

Event Recap

Sep 18, 2012

Roundtable with Nigerien minister of justice on crisis in the Sahel

By Africa Center

The Michael S. Ansari Africa Center hosted a roundtable today on the crisis in the Sahel with H.E. Marou Amadou, minister of justice, guardian of seals, and spokesperson of the government the Republic of Niger. The minister, who is in Washington for meetings with US officials before traveling to New York to represent his country […]

Africa
Conflict

Event Recap

Sep 13, 2012

Security Challenges to Libya’s Quest for Democracy

By Jason Harmala

Libya’s quest for democracy is threatened by several serious security challenges, and the recent attack on the US embassy in Benghazi only reinforces Libya’s need to confront the deteriorating security situation.

Libya

New Atlanticist

Sep 13, 2012

Foreign Service and Ambassador Stevens

By Ross Wilson

The death in Benghazi of US Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other staff members of the US mission in Libya is a chilling reminder of the risks that American diplomats and American diplomacy face at a time of violence and uncertainty in the Middle East and the world. 

Libya

Issue Brief

Sep 12, 2012

Security challenges to Libya’s quest for democracy

By Karim Mezran and Fadel Lamen

Security challenges threaten to undermine Libya’s political transition as well as its relations with other countries, according to a new issue brief released by the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council. The September 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, resulting in the death of four American diplomats, makes […]

Libya

MENASource

Sep 12, 2012

Picking up the Pieces and Honoring Ambassador Stevens

By Karim Mezran and Danya Greenfield

The violent attack on the US consulate in Benghazi and the tragic deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American embassy staff should provoke a thorough reassessment of priorities by the Libyan and the US governments.

Libya

New Atlanticist

Sep 12, 2012

Free Speech in America Yields Violence in Egypt and Libya

By James Joyner

Dozens of Egyptian protestors climbed the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo Tuesday, stormed the compound and tore down the American flag, replacing it with a black Islamist flag bearing the inscription “There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet.” Overnight, violent protests at the American consulate in Benghazi killed at […]

Libya
North Africa

MENASource

Aug 31, 2012

The Final Draft Wording of the Articles on Defense and National Security in the New Constitution

By Tarek Radwan

The rapporteur for the Defense and National Security Committee, a subcommittee of the Committee on the System of Government in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Mohammed Mohieddin, said that “[the Committee] completed the final draft for the articles pertaining to defense and national security. The Committee on the System of Government approved the final draft after […]

North Africa
Political Reform

Experts