Politics precedes victory in Libya?
Eliminating the Islamic State’s (IS) presence in Libya is just one of many goals that Libyans share with the international community and which could be the building block for a… Read more »
Category: Middle East/North Africa
Pope slams efforts to ‘export’ Westernized democracy
Pope Francis has criticized Western powers for trying to export their own brand of democracy to countries such as Iraq and Libya without respecting indigenous political cultures, Reuters reports: Speaking… Read more »
Rewriting the Arab Social Contract: Toward Inclusive Politics
As the Arab uprisings have unfolded, the economic and social issues at their roots have received little attention and in some cases have been entirely overlooked by the transitioning countries… Read more »
What is the Arabic for democracy?
The collapse of the post-colonial Arab system is, at its heart, a crisis of legitimacy. The impact of colonialism, often blamed by Arabs for their woes, should not be… Read more »
From protest to politics: Madinati ‘shakes up Lebanon’s old guard’
Several dozen people gathered outside a Future Movement office in Beirut’s Al-Tariq al-Jadideh area Thursday to demand payments. A source told The Daily Star that the protesters were staff hired… Read more »
Why political prisoners matter
Today, May 12, marks the 40th anniversary of the Moscow Helsinki Group, a human rights organization created to monitor the Soviet Union’s compliance with the Helsinki Accords, notes Natan… Read more »
Whatever happened to the ‘Turkish model’?
About five years ago, everyone was talking about the “Turkish model.” People in the West and in the Muslim world held up Turkey as a shining example of the compatibility… Read more »
Iran’s ‘unfinished revolution’
When Iran makes headlines, it is usually as a result of its conflicts with other countries, notes analyst Ervand Abrahamian. Far less attention is paid to Iran’s conflicts with itself, which are… Read more »
From the Bottom, Up: A Strategy to Support Syria’s Opposition
As negotiations continue to uphold a teetering ceasefire in Syria, the primary U.S. effort in Syria should be a bottom-up strategy to build cohesive, moderate, armed opposition institutions with a… Read more »
Can populist demagogue help resolve Iraq’s ‘profound political crisis’?
The top U.N. envoy in Iraq strongly urged the country’s leaders and civil society on Friday to work together to resolve the current political deadlock, warning that the ongoing crisis… Read more »