Tarek Masoud: “The Road To (and from) Liberation Square”

In an article written by assistant Harvard professor Tarek Masoud, he addresses and comments on prominent issues and events leading up to Egypt's current political state. He states that the combination of a "failing regime, aging leader, and a people increasingly willing to confront both" led to the revolution that overwhelmed Egypt in January. Masoud noted the amount of restraint that Mubarak's forces used in the earlier waves of the protests, suggesting ...

Working Group on Egypt: Thoughts and Suggestions for Policymakers

In a report released today by the Working Group on Egypt are questions and concerns regarding the transitional government (SCAF) in Egypt. Thoughts and suggestions outlined in the report are summarized below: International monitoring of elections: The report suggests that, "U.S. policymakers should strongly encourage the SCAF to grant domestic as well as international monitors full access to all aspects of the polling process." The SCAF has purported that international monitoring undermines the ...

qatar

Civil Society and Democratization in Qatar

An article in Foreign Policy discusses the reasons for Qatar's apparent immunity to the Arab uprisings. While democracy promotion efforts in the Arab world have heavily emphasized strengthening civil society, the Qatar World Values Survey (QWVS) from December 2010 showed ...

POMED Notes: The Trajectory of Egypt’s Transition

On Monday, the United States Institute of Peace hosted an event entitled "Beyond Tahrir: The Trajectory of Egypt's Transition." The discussion was with Major General Said Elassar, Assistant to Egyptian Defense Minister, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Tara Sonenshine, Executive Vice President, United States Institute of Peace, provided introductory remarks. William Quandt, Edward R. Stettinius Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, moderated the discussion. For full notes, continue reading. ...

Egypt: Protesters Doubt Mubarak’s Upcoming Trial

Many activists are concerned that former President Hosni Mubarak's trial will be postponed.  According to activists, "setting the trial date was just an element of political theater, part of the ritual of superficial concessions that the military-led transitional government has made after each big new demonstration in Tahrir Square."  Activists are already planning protests in response to Mubarak's potentially postponed trial. Mubarak's trial is in ten days. “The signs show that ...

Syria: Mass Violence Against Protesters Continue

About 1.2 million Syrians staged an anti-government protest on Friday where at least 11  people were gunned down by government troops, human rights groups reported on Saturday.  Human rights groups also said that security forces used tanks and gunfire in Damascus and other cities on protesters.  President Bashar al-Assad has denied access to almost all foreign journalists and according to activists, communication was completely cut in Syria on Friday. In the ...

Libya: Pressure Tightening Around Gadhafi

Libyan representatives have reported they are ready have more talks with the United States and Libyan rebels in an effort to further push Libyan Leader Muammar Gadhafi from power.  According to a Libyan government spokesman, Gadhafi "will not bow to demands he leave power."  After a productive dialogue with Libyan representatives and the U.S. last week where the U.S. officially recognized Libya's rebel government, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said, "We believe ...

The Role of Political Islam in the Region

In an interview with Toni Johnson from the Council on Foreign Relations, Ebrahim Moosa, professor of religion and Islamic studies at Duke University speaks on the role of political Islam in new governments across the region, including Egypt and Tunisia.  Moosa argues that Islam will be a factor in the emerging governments, but "people will be cautious about allowing too much of a blurring between political and religious boundaries." In addition, Moosa ...

Iran’s Political Prisoners Take a Stand

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer and women's activist sentenced to 11 years in prison sent a letter in March 2010 to the head of Iran's judiciary.  The letter was released for the public today: "Your Judge confirmed that Iranian women cannot be ignored under any pretext," Sotoudeh wrote.  Isa Sahahrkhiz, an Iranian journalist and one of the founders of the Society for the Defense of Press Freedom in Iran ...

POMED Notes: Foreign Assistance in “The New Middle East”

On Thursday, Foreign Policy and the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) co-hosted a discussion on foreign assistance in the context of the Arab Spring. A keynote address was given by Tamara Cofman Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Following her address was a panel discussion with John Norris, Executive Director of the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative, Center for American Progress; Ehaab Abdou, Co-founder, Nahdet El ...

Women Demand Greater Role in Egyptian Government

Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that feminists are dismayed with the progress of protests and are rallying other female rights groups together to defend women's rights against the perceivable threats of resurgent Islamists groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Feminist Nawal al-Saadawi said, "Women need to unite" in a recent interview. The World Economic Forum's  2010 Global Gender Gap Index (which gauges women's equality) reports that Egypt ranked 125th out of 134 countries. Feminists like Saadawi ...

A rebel fighter guards a checkpoint while civilians flee fighting in Al-Qawalish in the western mountains of Libya

Negotiations and Planning for Post-Gadhafi

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe maintained today that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi must step down. However, "one of the scenarios effectively envisaged is that he stays in Libya on one condition which I repeat -- that he very clearly ...

Egypt: Debate on Role of Military

Tony Karon argues that the Egyptian military is following its natural pattern of working to maintain its autonomy as a self-appointed guardian of the state and assert veto power over democratic processes. Karon compares the military's vision in Egypt to the Turkish model of an earlier era, citing one general's admission to the Washington Post that "Egypt as a country needs this to protect our democracy from the Islamists. We ...

POMED Notes: Release of POMED Budget Report

On Tuesday, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a panel discussion with the Heinrich Böll Foundation of North America to announce the release of a new publication, The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012: Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights in the Middle East. The discussion featured Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of POMED and author of the report; Daniel Brumberg, Senior Adviser to the Center for Conflict ...

Debate on Wefaq’s Withdrawal from Bahrain Dialogue

In response to opposition group al-Wefaq's withdrawal from the National Dialogue, Human Rights First today called on the U.S. government to "immediately and publicly declare whether it still supports the Bahraini government’s National Dialogue." After his recent trip to Bahrain, Brian Dooley reported that "a wide range of human rights defenders in Bahrain told us last week the dialogue is cosmetic, and the U.S. government is losing credibility by being associated with ...

Syria: Growing International Pressure and Debate

Qatar closed its embassy in Damascus and withdrew its ambassador last week, after attacks on the embassy compound by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Further signaling the growing international pressure against the Syrian regime, a statement released by EU Foreign Minister in Brussels asserted that "until the unacceptable violence against the civilian population is halted... the EU will pursue and carry forward its current policy, including through sanctions." And Britain's Foreign Minister ...

Secretary Clinton on Regional Developments

During an interview on Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton emphasized that while the U.S., Turkey, and the international community can offer support with financial aid and expertise, democratic transitions in the Arab world must be led from within. Referring to the "troubling" events in Syria, Clinton expressed concern that "none of us really have influence other than to try to say what we believe and to encourage the changes that we ...

Sen. John Kerry’s Policy of Engagement

Writing in the New York Times Magazine, James Traub describes the foreign policy approach of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). Like President Barack Obama, Kerry has long supported the approach of "engagement," by meeting and forming relationships with both democratic and authoritarian leaders. For example, in 2009 and 2010 Kerry traveled to Syria four times, conveying to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a list of moderate reforms recommended by the White House that were ...

POMED Notes: European Union Response to Arab Spring

On Tuesday, The Brookings Institution held a forum on “The European Union Response to the Arab Spring” featuring Catherine Ashton, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Police.  The forum was moderated by Martin Indyk, the vice president and director of the foreign policy department at the Brookings Institution.  Ashton spoke on the role of the European Union in supporting the Arab Spring. For full text, ...

Egypt: Security Forces Break up Sit-In

Military forces removed tents and dispersed protesters at a sit-in in front of Gharbiya headquarters on Saturday.  The sit-in was organized by political groups including the 6 April Youth Movement and the Freedom and Justice Movement.  Protesters were demanding the dismissal of the heads of city councils in Gharbiya, and for an increase in job opportunities, unemployment benefits and compensation for families of the martyrs of the revolution. General Tareq al-Mahdi, ...

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