Category: Egypt

‘Nothing inevitable or inexorable’ about democracy’s advance – or decline

     

Some observers talk as though democracy is in irreversible decline, but the only way that freedom and democracy will fall is if we let them, USAID Administrator Mark Green told… Read more »

Egypt moves to enhance authoritarian rule

     

Proposed amendments to Egypt’s constitution, including granting the armed forces authority to intervene in government, would undermine judicial independence and expand executive powers that are already being abused, Human Rights… Read more »

Reclamation: new Arab discourse empowers civil actors

     

ISIS may be defeated and devoid of territory, but its ideology continues to spread, The [London] Times reports. Jihadi fighters are not necessarily driven by religious ideology, disenfranchised or lacking… Read more »

Time for corporate responsibility – and accountability in MENA?

     

The Economist described corporate social responsibility as “two-faced capitalism,” highlighting the inevitable tensions between making money and doing good. But too many businesses are guilty of political irresponsibility in the… Read more »

Egypt faces ‘worst crackdown on freedoms in modern history’

     

  Eight years ago this week, protests erupted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, with throngs of Egyptians demanding an end to autocratic rule and chanting the slogan, “Bread, freedom, social justice,”  Jared… Read more »

Middle East braced for ‘future without stability or freedom’?

     

Unless something changes, the Middle East should brace for the worst of both worlds: a future without stability or freedom, the FT suggests. Public support for U.S. military action and… Read more »

Egypt’s Sisi on defensive over human rights, civil society crackdown

     

Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has denied his country holds any political prisoners, despite rights groups saying tens of thousands are currently detained, The Independent reports: In the five years since Mr… Read more »

Austerity squeeze: middle class discontent stirs memories of Arab Spring

     

A wave of economic austerity is squeezing the Arab world’s middle class, pushing a segment of society that is key to growth and stability into making painful cutbacks and fueling… Read more »

Egypt: mass arrests aim ‘to quash what remains of civil society’

     

Egypt’s police and National Security Agency (NSA) forces have conducted a mass arrest campaign, rounding up at least 40 human rights workers, lawyers, and political activists since late October 2018,… Read more »

Egypt’s ‘New Realism’: Sisi turns to autocrats for allies

     

Anecdotally, Egyptians appear far more concerned about security and economic issues than they are about their diminished civil liberties, argues Barak Barfi, a research fellow at the New America Foundation…. Read more »