Turkey: Civil Society on Trial
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has marked the anniversary of a failed coup against him every passing year — this week was the third — with a national holiday that has… Read more »
Category: Middle East/North Africa
Algeria’s divided democracy movement seeks end to impasse
In April 2019, Algerians ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, becoming the fifth Arab country to topple a president since 2011, the Brookings Institution reports. Though successfully deposing the head of state,… Read more »
Iran’s reformist movement – threatened or already dead?
Veterans of Iran’s reformist movement – Mohsen Aminzadeh, Mohammadreza Khatami, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, and Mostafa Tajzadeh – are concerned about the “mortal blow that even a limited military conflict with the United States of… Read more »
Post-Erdoganism? Istanbul election shows resilience of Turkey’s democracy
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is grappling with the fallout of the ruling party’s big defeat in the Istanbul mayoral election, and his government faces pressure to release political prisoners,… Read more »
What has the bigger impact – elections or protests?
Recent events, from Sudan and Algeria to Hong Kong, are the latest indication that political protests have increased in both frequency and size, according to research by Carnegie’s Thomas Carothers and… Read more »
Why the Russian model will not work for Turkey
On June 23, somewhere between 8 and 9 million residents of Istanbul will go to the polls to elect their mayor—again. The leading contenders are Ekrem Imamoglu, a dynamic young… Read more »
Morsi’s ‘mixed legacy’ puts Muslim Brotherhood back in focus
Mohamed Morsi did a poor job as Egypt’s president before being ousted in a bloody military coup by the country’s current dictator, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. But the gross mistreatment Mr…. Read more »
Why Saudis and UAE want to destroy hope for Arab democracy
Russia and China are not the only autocracies seeking to squash democratic openings. Since the Arab uprisings of 2011, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have used their considerable… Read more »
Lessons from Egypt’s failed revolution for Algeria and Sudan
Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed has called for a “quick” democratic transition in Sudan as he met the country’s ruling generals and protest leaders, days after a deadly crackdown killed… Read more »
Tunisia’s democracy – enduring, but fragile?
As Tunisia heads towards scheduled parliamentary and presidential elections later this year, a bipartisan Senate resolution has reaffirmed the U.S.-Tunisia partnership, and publicly supported Tunisia’s ongoing transition “into a vibrant… Read more »