Partners for a New Beginning hosted a panel discussion at the Aspen Institute on the rule of law in Egypt and the challenges Egyptian democracy is encountering, as it attempts to transition from its current state under a military-led council to a fully functioning parliamentary democracy. Hdeel Abdelhady, the co-founder of the Egyptian American Rule of Law Association, moderated the discussion. Panelists included Nathan Brown, professor of political science and ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for September 26 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of the Saudi decision to grant women the right to vote in the 2015 elections. We also looked at Ali Abdullah Saleh's return to Yemen, intensified protests in Bahrain ahead of by-elections on Saturday, and renewed protests in Morocco. Bashar al-Assad continued to face international pressure, Egypt's Supreme Council of Armed Forces extended the emergency law to next ...

On Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted several Tunisian Ministers to discuss the future of U.S.-Tunisian relations and cooperation. Mr. Lionel Johnson, Vice President of Middle East and North Africa Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce moderated the discussion and expressed his pleasure at the increase of Middle East and North Africa region events recently due to the Arab Spring. For full event notes, continue reading or click here for ...

On Thursday, the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held a hearing about U.S. approaches to human rights policy in Syria and Iran. The panel included Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Mehdi Khalaji, a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Alireza Nader of the RAND Corporation, Tony Badran, a Research Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, ...

On Thursday, the Parliamentary Forum for Democracy (PFD) partnered with the Lithuanian Embassy, the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute to discuss the current challenges facing democracy development and how the PFD can develop an agenda to address those challenges. For full event notes, continue reading. Or, click here for the PDF. The opening series of speakers, entitled “Parliaments and Democracy: The Challenges Ahead,” began with ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for September 19 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of a senior State Department visit to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., as well as the State Department's announcement about the opening of the Middle East Transitions office. Syrian unrest continued as activists formed the Syrian National Council, Algeria loosened longstanding media restrictions, and Iran and Egypt tightened constraints on their press. Mahmoud Jibril gave his first public ...

On Monday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in conjunction with the Gulf Research Council (GRC) hosted two discussion panels detailing the current state of U.S.-Saudi relations. The first panel, entitled “September 11 and Issue of Terrorism,” included Mustafa Alani, the GRC’s Senior Adviser and Director of Security and Defense Studies, Gregory Gause, chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Vermont, and Christopher Boucek, associate at the ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for September 12 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of legislation linking the fate of the Lockerbie bomber to future aid for Libya, as well as upcoming State Department visits to Egypt and Tunisia. Scores of Bahraini prisoners were released, thousands of protesters returned to Tahrir Square to reinvigorate Egypt’s revolution, and the Tunisian government restricted union activity. In Syria, violence and demonstrations persisted throughout the ...

On Wednesday, the Middle East Institute (MEI) partnered with International Relief and Development (IRD) to hold a discussion on the current status of humanitarian issues in Libya.  U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz delivered the keynote address.  Following Amb. Cretz's address, Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin moderated a question and answer session as well as a panel discussion. The panel included Mark S. Ward, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, ...

POMED and the National Security Network will be co-hosting a panel discussion on Tuesday, September 13th, called "The Arab Uprisings and the United Nations." The event will be from 10am-11:30am at the Center for American Progress (1333 H St NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005). We're excited to have Dr. James Zogby (President, Arab American Institute), Geneive Abdo (Fellow, the Century Foundation and the National Security Network), and Ted Piccone (Senior Fellow, ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for August 29 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of the ongoing debate in Congress about foreign aid, as well as rising tensions in Bahrain as protests escalated. After granting asylum to Gadhafi's family, Algeria expressed willingness to recognize the TNC once a government is formed, and in Libya Muammar Gadhafi vowed to resist the rebels. Assad responded with continued violence as regional pressure and local ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for August 29 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of Libyan rebels' assault on Tripoli, as well as ongoing violence in Syria as opposition leaders began to form a national council. The Yemeni Prime Minister returned to Sana’a, while President Ali Abdullah Saleh remains defiant that he will soon return. And Bahraini authorities continued their repression of pro-democracy activists as Nabeel Rajab was summoned to a ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for August 22 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of Libyan rebels' capture of Gadhafi's sons in Tripoli, as well as the release of a TNC constitutional charter outlining plans to transition to democracy.  President Barack Obama, the European Union, Britain, France, Germany and Canada called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Hosni Mubarak's trial will resume in September, and Morocco announced an early ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for August 15 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of the recalls of several Arab ambassadors from Damascus, as well as the release of nearly 150 prisoners in Bahrain amidst growing criticism of the Independent Commission of Inquiry. The TNC took control over the Libyan embassy in Washington as rebels steadily advanced towards Tripoli, and confusion remained over the political future of ...

On Friday, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems hosted a panel discussion entitled: “Women in the Middle East: Attitudes and Advocacy in an Opening Political Space.” The discussion was part of the Interaction Forum. The panelists included Rola Abdul-Latif, IFES Senior Research Specialist; Rana Jarhum, Advocacy and Senior Media Specialist, WATAN Coalition (The Yemeni Women for Social Peace Campaign); and Carla Koppell, Senior Coordinator, Office of Gender Equality & ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for August 8 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of the Syrian regime’s escalating crackdown, as well as the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, his sons, and the former interior minister. The Bahraini government released from prison two prominent opposition MPs, and Libyan fighting slowed as the opposition regrouped after the death of a major general. The full Weekly Wire can be viewed here.

On Thursday the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) hosted a panel discussion entitled “The Repercussions of Delisting the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).” The panelists were Maziar Bahari, former Newsweek reporter in Iran, human rights activist, filmmaker, and author; Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; and Barbara Slavin, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and author.  The event was moderated by Trita Parsi, founder and current president ...

On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a nomination hearing to confirm Ambassador Norman L. Eisen to the Czech Republic, Ambassador Robert Stephen Ford to the Syrian Arab Republic, and Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone Jr. to the Republic of Turkey. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) presided over the first panel hearing alongside Ranking Member SenatorRichard Lugar (R-IN) which featured Ambassadors Eisen and Ricciardone. Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA) presided over the second panel featuring Ambassador ...

On Tuesday, a diverse group of U.S. based Syrian opposition members hosted a press conference after their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, and senior U.S. diplomat Fred Hof.  Mohammad Al Abdallah, former political prisoner and spokesperson for the Local Coordinating Committee; Radwan Ziadeh, founder of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies; and Marah Bukai, founder of the al-Waraf Institute represented ...

On Thursday, the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) paired up with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to hold a discussion entitled, “On the Cutting Edge of Aid Effectiveness: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from the ”. Jim Kolbe, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, moderated the conversation with panelists Sheila Herrling, Vice President for Policy and Evaluation (MCC), and Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security ...