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

Jan 10, 2019

Exploiting the achievements of the Libyan political agreement

By Karim Mezran and Wolfgang Pusztai

The conference on Libya held in Palermo, Italy last November saw neither the rising of a new dawn in terms of security and political consensus nor the development of a strong agreement around a well-defined plan.

Libya

MENASource

Nov 14, 2018

The United States should not get involved in Libya’s civil war

By Hafed Al-Ghwell

An unmistakable sense of despair and gloom accompanies most news reports and literature on the state of affairs in Libya after 2011. The Arab Spring was meant to usher in a period of unprecedented change after decades of notoriously undemocratic leadership across the Middle East and North Africa. Yet, seven years later, there has been very little positive development in terms of transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in the Arab world.

Libya

New Atlanticist

Nov 9, 2018

Libya, the US, and the Palermo Conference

By Karim Mezran and Erin A. Neale

The United States has much to gain by taking a larger leadership role in the political negotiations and redirecting the tangential European actions toward the UN-led stabilization process.

Democratic Transitions Elections

MENASource

Nov 7, 2018

The unknowns of the Libya stabilization conference

By Nicola Pedde

The approaching conference on Libyan stabilization hosted by Italy—which will be held on November 12 and 13 in Palermo—will bring together the main Libyan leaders, with the purpose of defining their respective negotiation platforms in advance. Italy must not only navigate the components of Libya's heterogeneous and conflicting political landscape, but also host the most relevant regional and global actors.

Libya

MENASource

Nov 5, 2018

The end—or not—of Tunisia’s “Mut’ah”?

By Erin A. Neale

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi announced in September the official end to the alliance between Nidaa Tounes Ennahda that had been holding on since February 2015. Termed a “mut'ah”—a temporary marriage of traditional Shia origin—by Tunisia expert Dr. Monica Marks, it was a marriage of convenience between the two main parliamentary parties to preserve stability and to focus on counterterrorism, improving the economy, and government efficiency during the critical transitional period following the ousting of former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

North Africa

MENASource

Oct 30, 2018

Sudan’s security services target refugees in Cairo

By Mat Nashed

When Sudan’s government was bombing hospitals in one of its own states in 2011, Kareem was among the activists detailing the atrocities. His work tracking the counterinsurgency in South Kordofan made him a target for Sudan’s security services, and in December 2012 he was accosted by two men who sprayed him with a nerve agent that put him in the hospital.

North Africa Sudan

New Atlanticist

Oct 18, 2018

Gadhafi’s Libya and the importance of not shunning the past

By Karim Mezran

It is now common to hear in the streets of the capital Tripoli and other Libyan cities the wistful sentiment: “I wish we could go back to the golden period of Gadhafi’s rule.”

Democratic Transitions International Organizations

Event Recap

Oct 9, 2018

The Arc of Crisis in the MENA Region

By Erin A. Neale

On Tuesday, October 9th, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East held a conference to discuss the nature of foreign involvement in ongoing conflicts in the region as well as the resilience of Jihadism in the post-2011 period. The conference coincided with the launching of a report, “The Arc of Crisis in […]

Iraq Libya

In the News

Oct 8, 2018

Hellyer Quoted in Washington post on Libyan Forces Capturing Egypt Militant

By H.A. Hellyer

Read the full article here.

Libya

MENASource

Oct 4, 2018

Moroccan conscription: An unfinished process

By Sarah Alaoui and Leila Hanafi

If passed by the country’s two parliamentary chambers, an expedited draft law 44.18 would reinstate mandatory military service for both Moroccan men and women between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five by the end of next year.

Morocco North Africa

Experts