North Africa

The Blasphemy Law is Here to Stay

By Jayson Casper

Among the many battlegrounds between liberal and conservative visions for Egypt is the blasphemy law, with Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naoot its latest victims.

Five Years On: Rights and Freedoms

By Elissa Miller

Over the past five years, local and international rights organizations have criticized an increasingly restrictive climate in Egypt that has severely limited street protests, called into question media freedom, and seen a tightening grip on civil society organizations. Successive governments have done little to address grievances, many of which were key demands of the January […]

Photo Essay: What Happened in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2016

By Jonathan Rashad

Five years ago, thousands of Egyptians took to the streets in mass protest. Their chants of “Bread, freedom, and social justice” filled Tahrir Square. The date they chose was no coincidence. January 25 marked national police day, and a key demand of the protests was an end to police brutality in Egypt. Eighteen days later, […]

Libya: The Chaos Continues

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Tobruk-based assembly puts a question mark over unity government’s fate, says Atlantic Council’s Karim Mezran Libya’s internationally recognized parliament on January 25 rejected a unity government proposed under a UN-backed plan out of concern that it was too large, dealing a setback to efforts to end a period of uncertainty that has allowed the Islamic […]

Five Years On: Egypt’s International Relations

By Elissa Miller

US-Egypt ties and Egypt’s ties with the Gulf witnessed the most significant shifts in Egypt’s foreign relations in the past five years. US-Egypt relations were strained as the Obama administration placed US military and economic aid to Egypt on hold, while in the Gulf, a surge of support in the wake of the ouster of former president Mohamed […]

Five Years On: Politics, the Judiciary, and Legislation

By Elissa Miller

On January 25, 2011, Egyptians launched a revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power. In the five years since, Egypt has witnessed significant political, economic, and societal turbulence. Many of the uprising’s demands remain unmet as Egypt continues to move forward.

January 25: The Anniversaries [Video]

Each year, the anniversary of the January 25 uprising has simultaneously been cause for celebration by some, and has been marked by violence and death for others.