Category: Middle East/North Africa

Egypt’s anti-corruption protests add to regional insecurity

     

Chaotic protests across Egypt this weekend — prompted by videos exposing corruption in President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s military-backed government — underscore the population’s weariness with economic hardship due in part to government austerity measures, according… Read more »

Tunisia: populism and cronyism risk ‘slide toward authoritarian tendencies’

     

Tunisia’s hopeful transition to a democratic future faces a new challenge. Voters in the country have delivered a sharp rebuke to their political elite. In the first round of presidential… Read more »

Anti-corruption protests ‘a turning point’ in Egypt

     

Egyptian security forces rounded up hundreds of people following small but rare anti-government protests, rights lawyers said Monday, as authorities moved to take harsh preventive measures against more unrest. Hundreds of… Read more »

Captive Society: What do Iran’s leaders really fear?

     

What do Iran’s leaders really fear? New York Times columnist Bret Stephens asks. Above all, a revival of the Green Movement that nearly toppled the regime following the stolen presidential… Read more »

Little-known academic and media mogul advance in Tunisia poll

     

Two outsiders — law professor Kais Saied and media tycoon Nabil Karoui — are claiming an edge in Tunisia’s presidential vote, ahead of official results, VOA reports (above). The two… Read more »

The Arab Region After the Uprisings: Struggling to define inclusive social contract

     

Since the 2011 uprisings, Arab countries have struggled to define a new social contract that would insulate their citizens from forces of exclusion—forces that range from poverty, inequality and unemployment… Read more »

Populist outsiders sweep Tunisia’s elections?

     

Tunisians headed to the polls on Sunday in their second free and fair presidential election. The election was exceptionally competitive, with no candidate in a crowded field of 26 garnering… Read more »

Tunisia’s ‘Berlusconi’ seeks presidency in Arab world’s only ‘resilient’ democracy

     

Tunisia’s transition to democracy has proved more resilient than some expected. The largely peaceful run-up to the polls has raised hopes the country will achieve its first handover of the… Read more »

Could Tunisia’s election reshape the political system?

     

Presidential candidates Selma Elloumi Rekik and Abir Moussi want to fight against creeping fundamentalism that has threatened Tunisian women’s freedoms and improve economic prospects for unemployed youth. Their chances of winning… Read more »