Arab democracy would simply be inconceivable without Islamist participation, writes Brookings analyst Shadi Hamid. That, by itself, should give us pause, particularly at a time when Western democracies appear uninterested or even… Read more »
Algeria’s regime has shown a capacity to distribute political and economic resources in a controlled manner. This allows it to “create an appearance of change and pluralism that has allowed… Read more »
It will take more than one election cycle to get democracy to satisfy the expectations of the Lebanese people, according to Louisa Slavkova and Rob Norris, who served as National… Read more »
Tunisians are aware of their country as the only one in the Arab world trying to make the Islamist–non-Islamist divide work in a genuinely democratic way, notes Thomas Carothers,… Read more »
Hezbollah and its allies have won a small majority of seats in Lebanon’s first parliamentary election in nearly a decade, boosting its influence and giving its patron Iran greater sway… Read more »
With little over a month to go before Lebanon’s first national vote in nine years, experts are gauging the pulse of the electorate, tuning in to elements including turnout,… Read more »
One could be forgiven for thinking Iraq remains a tangled mess of sectarian division and political failings, whose people are incapable of resolving their differences and working together to rebuild… Read more »
How does terrorism end? Is it effective as a means of securing political power? Robin Wright asks in The New Yorker: Sinn Féin—the I.R.A.’s political wing—is the most popular party… Read more »
Civil society activists have often struggled to make the transition from protest to politics, to effect a shift from social movement to party in power. Illiberal and authoritarian movements –… Read more »
The shortcomings of democratization as a vehicle for regional reform and transformation are confirmed by the findings of the latest Arab Democracy Index, analysts suggest. The intra-Arab collaborative index is… Read more »