Jordan election: the same old song?
Jordan’s parliamentary elections on September 20 have produced a parliament that will contain opposition figures for the first time in a decade, analysts Michele Dunne and Marwan Muasher write for… Read more »
Category: Middle East/North Africa
Arab world needs new social contract
Back in 2011 and 2012, the root causes and drivers of the pro-democracy ‘Arab Spring’ protests were clear. The notion of a “new social contract” came to symbolise the popular… Read more »
The ‘grim reality’ of Tunisian democracy at risk
The hype about Tunisia’s political progress has become completely disconnected from the reality on the ground, argues Moncef Marzouki, who served from 2011 to 2014 as the first elected president… Read more »
Sisi turns against Egypt’s labor unions
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is turning against the unions that have helped put him in power. The state has set its sights on the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade… Read more »
Hidden Heroes: Voices of Syria’s Civil Society
Today, over 5,000 men and women are active in Syrian civil society organizations. These diverse grassroots organizations work in human rights, community development, awareness building, and humanitarian aid. Much of… Read more »
Fragile states need strategic, systemic, selective, and sustained response
Fragile states may seem like a distant and abstract concern, but they are not, according to William J. Burns, Michèle A. Flournoy, and Nancy E. Lindborg. They are at… Read more »
EU slams Egypt’s asset freeze on activists
The European Union External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic arm, has criticized the Egyptian government’s decision to freeze the assets of leading civil society activists. “The increased pressure on independent… Read more »
Jordan election a ‘small step toward democratic reform’
Jordan‘s parliament election on Tuesday is being touted as proof that the pro-Western monarchy is moving forward with democratic reforms despite regional turmoil and security threats, AP’s Karin Laub writes:… Read more »
Could intervention have tilted the balance in Syria?
Today, five years later, it’s easy to forget that Syria’s revolution started off amid the optimism of the Arab Spring. The first protests against Assad’s dictatorship were peaceful: Demonstrators were… Read more »
Women’s empowerment a rare bright spot in democracy landscape
In a global democracy landscape marked by considerable gloom, progress in women’s political empowerment is a rare bright spots of recent years, argues the Carnegie Endowment’s Thomas Carothers a… Read more »