More than two years after a wave of protests swept through much of the Arab world, the countries of the Arab Spring are on sharply divergent paths. This WPR special report examines the internal political and security issues facing those countries, as well as attempts to manage them from the outside, with an extended focus on Syria. Politics of Reform The Five Models of Arab RevolutionBy Frida GhitisJune 21, 2012 Joining the Fray: Salafi Politics After the Arab SpringBy Will McCantsJanuary 22, 2013 Embassy Attacks in Egypt, Tunisia Could Marginalize ExtremistsBy Nader HabibiSeptember 17, 2012 Suddenly, Hard Times for the [...]
The Arab Uprisings were principally sparked by the brutality of the security sector in almost every single country where they occurred. In Tunisia, Mohammed Bouazizi’s self-immolation following an insult by the police in December 2010 triggered the revolution. In Egypt, the June 2010 murder by two policemen of Internet activist Khaled Said, followed by the brutality of police during the fraudulent parliamentary elections of November-December 2010, set the revolution’s context. In Libya, the arrest in February 2011 of Fathy Terbil—a human rights lawyer who had represented the families of the victims of the June 1996 Abu Selim Prison massacre, in [...]
There have been conflicting reports regarding the health of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika since he was airlifted to a military hospital in Paris, France, for treatment following a mini-stroke in late-April. Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has denied rumors that the president, who remains in France, is seriously ill. But speculation over who might replace Bouteflika, and what might come next for the North African country he has presided over since 1999, continues. While Bouteflika may yet return to Algeria, his health makes it unlikely that he will be able to stand for re-election in the presidential balloting set for [...]
