Yesterday marked the fourteenth anniversary of Mahmoud Abbas’s election to the presidency of the Palestinian Authority (PA) for a four-year term. Not only have no subsequent elections for the presidency… Read more »
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 »
Iran has sentenced two human rights lawyers to six years in prison and a third to 13 years, AP reports: The Arman daily said Ghasem Sholeh-Saadi and Arash Keikhosravi were… Read more »
U.S. disengagement from the daily irritations of Middle East politics has encouraged Arab allies—particularly Saudi Arabia—to adopt more aggressive foreign policies, which has in turn required an ideological language for… Read more »
Authoritarian learning facilitates the ‘dismantling of democracy from the inside’, The Washington Post’s Amanda Erickson writes. It used to be that autocrats came to power through coups or by enacting states… Read more »
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 »
The Islamic Republic of Iran is strengthening the security forces and religious institutions that constitute the two key pillars of the regime, says an Institute for International Strategic Studies analysis…. Read more »
A Tehran-based agency has quietly fed propaganda through at least 70 websites to countries from Afghanistan to Russia. And American firms have helped, according to a special Reuters investigation:… Read more »
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi’s hosting of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman caused much discontent and led to large-scale civil society protests in the streets of Tunis, reports suggest…. Read more »
One of the most significant issues facing civil society and democracy activists has been how to use digital technology to assist their movements, writes Sana Kikhia, co-founder and executive director… Read more »