Spotlight on Egypt’s repression
In theory, Egypt’s Public Prosecution should be an independent, impartial institution, defending the rights of all Egyptians before the law, notes a new report from the Project on Middle East… Read more »
Category: Civil Society
‘Countering violent extremism’ – challenges and responses
Violent extremism is caused primarily by religious ideology more than racism, poverty, military interventions by foreign governments and human rights abuses, according to a new global poll published this week… Read more »
Does culture affect foreign policy – and democratization?
Western ideas—which many in the West believe are universal—collide with the ideals of Middle Eastern societies in ways that aren’t always obvious, argues Steven Cook, a Fellow for Middle… Read more »
Jordan: redefining civil society
A younger generation of educated activists in Jordan is attempting to navigate the middle ground between maintaining the status quo and pushing for regime change – neither of which is… Read more »
Anti-corruption watchdog highlights push for reform in Azerbaijan
Baku has four months to rewrite its laws on NGOs or be suspended from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative — a step that could jeopardise billions of dollars of loans… Read more »
No avoiding Mideast’s underlying issues of governance, corruption and repression
The next U.S. administration will inherit problems associated with the Middle East that are vastly more challenging than any in a generation as the old order has given way to… Read more »
Once a symbol of hope, Hungary now a study in democratic frailty
Protesters with referee whistles disturbed the Hungarian government’s commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the anti-Soviet revolution of 1956 on Sunday, as supporters of Prime Minister Viktor Orban tried to… Read more »
After Mosul: state-building means democratic state-building
A dispute between Iraq and Turkey has emerged as a dramatic geopolitical sideshow to the complicated military campaign to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, from the Islamic State, with Turkey’s… Read more »
Reformists, hardliners vie to influence choice of Iran’s next supreme leader
There is a lot of manoeuvring in Tehran to influence the decision on who will be Iran’s next supreme leader. There is no public succession plan for the most powerful… Read more »
Cold War 2.0? Confront authoritarianism by defending democratic values
Gen Sir Richard Shirreff remembers the moment he realized Nato was facing a new and more dangerous Russia. It was 19 March 2014, the day after Russia annexed Crimea from… Read more »