Turkey ‘will never be the same’ after referendum
On April 16, Turkish voters will be casting votes in the most consequential referendum of modern Turkish history, notes Henri J. Barkey, the director of the Middle East Program at… Read more »
Category: Middle East/North Africa
After Khamenei: stable transition depends on Iran’s deep state
As Iran gears up for a leadership transition, it is important to see the Islamic Republic for what it is, and not what one may hope it can be, note… Read more »
Arab civil society crucial for democracy
Popular protests against corruption and curbs on freedom of expression are indications of the increasingly authoritarian rule of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, observers suggest. A Palestinian author is hiding in an… Read more »
Will Syria strikes trigger political transition?
The American strike on Shayrat air base in Syria is an appropriate response to mass homicide by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, said Ambassador Frederic Hof, a Senior Fellow with… Read more »
Egypt’s social activism – ‘resilient and evolving’
Democracy and human rights advocates expressed disappointment by the warm embrace offered to Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Washington this week, despite his crackdown on civil society, but many were… Read more »
Egypt’s is the ‘worst counterterrorism strategy ever invented’
Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi will be celebrated in Washington on Monday as a major ally in the fight against terrorism and radical Islamic extremism, as well as a supporter… Read more »
Will Iran’s next election ‘reconfigure political landscape’?
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s hardliners may want to sideline President Hassan Rouhani as May’s elections approach, but getting there is risky, according to a prominent analyst. Traditionally,… Read more »
Egypt’s swing between extremism and autocracy
The view that Egypt’s President and former army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi is in control is not borne out by the pile-up of policy debris, says analyst David Gardner…. Read more »
Lebanon’s emerging protest movement prompts anti-corruption pledge
Lebanon’s government has vowed to end corruption following a week of street protests. The protesters were demonstrating against tax hikes which the government claims are necessary to fund an overdue… Read more »
Turkey heading for dictatorship, exposing underlying ideology
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Europeans on Wednesday that they would no longer be able to walk safely in the street if Western politicians continued with perceived provocations against Turkish… Read more »