Middle East & North Africa Archive

The new Middle East is very much a work in progress, but there is little question that the latest developments in that pivotal part of the world are making the stirring picture of freedom, democracy and secularism that so many had envisioned in the early days of the Arab Spring look more like a glassy mirage masking anti-liberal, anti-Western sentiment. As spring has given way to a boiling summer, most of the region’s revolutions have either stalled or moved in a direction that bears little resemblance to what progressive forces had initially hoped for. Not only have Arab liberals experienced […]

Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, has appeared in a Cairo court to face trial on charges of conspiring to kill anti-government protesters and corruption.

Global Insider is an ongoing World Politics Review interview series that examines developing trends in geopolitics. From energy issues and policy close-ups to bilateral and regional relations, Global Insider explores the foundations and implications of new developments in international affairs through the voices of pre-eminent experts hailing from government, academia and research institutions. Global Insider is published 3-5 times per week on the Trend Lines page. Below are links to each article in this special report, which subscribers can read in full. Not a subscriber? Purchase this document for Kindle or as a PDF from Scribd. Or subscribe now. Energy […]

Libyan state television has broadcast a defiant message from Colonel Gadhafi’s son, at a time when the conflict shows signs of getting mired in stalemate.

Shelling by Syrian tanks in the city of Hama has seen scores of anti-government protesters killed.

Friday’s mass resignation by Turkey’s top general, Isik Kosaner, and the commanders of the country’s army, navy and air force was a clear sign that the long-running battle between the military and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been decisively won by the government and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But the neutralization of the Turkish military as a political force will also bring with it greater pressure on the increasingly powerful AKP, which must now demonstrate that it can continue Turkey’s democratization process — particularly the drafting of a new, civilian-minded constitution — in an inclusive manner. […]

The Western news media has made much over the recent decision by Egypt’s transitional government to ban foreign election monitors from the country’s upcoming parliamentary polls. The more important story, however, has been buried: The transitional regime, which includes no women, has scrapped quotas for women in the national legislature, while retaining them for farmers and workers. In the previous legislature, Egypt’s mandatory quota system allowed women to hold approximately 13 percent of the seats — 64 out of 445. Now, the only protection for women will apply to the half of the new parliament’s seats that will be elected […]