North Africa

Understanding the Dangers of Egypt’s NGO Law

By Khaled Dawoud

Mohamed Zarie, the director of Egypt’s program at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights, doesn’t mince words when talking about Egypt’s new NGO law. He describes it as a death blow and a declaration of war. The law, which was approved in a record two weeks by the House of Representatives, imposes severe restrictions and […]

A Shift on Policy Towards Libya?

By Karim Mezran

As the situation in Libya increasingly declines, and in the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump at President of the United States, Libya experts are considering new ideas for US policy in Libya. One idea is for the international community to abandon its effort to create a Libyan unity government in line with the […]

Will Donald Trump Empower Strongmen in the Middle East?

US President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy will likely seek to support the “strongman vision” of authoritarian leaders in North Africa, said Karim Mezran, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Mezran joined Elissa Miller, assistant director with the Hariri Center, for a Facebook Live discussion on the future […]

ISIS in Sirte: From Caliphate to Insurgency

By Marco Arnaboldi

With the Libyan city of Sirte almost completely liberated from the Islamic State, the group appears to be adapting rather than collapsing. Despite a significant decline in interactions with outsiders, recent statements by ISIS leaders and the tactics used in its fight in Sirte point to how it might deal with the aftermath. In its […]