With Egypt in the midst of a political transition, this is a crucial time to rethink the U.S.'s relationship with Egypt according to Michele Dunne in POMED's latest policy brief. Although the events of the January 2011 revolution and the ensuing months of political transition have shown strained relations between the two nations, dissatisfaction with the relationship is nothing new to either party, thus making a recalibrated approach to Egypt ...

Against a backdrop of political upheaval and unrest throughout the Middle East, Qatar has appeared remarkably stable in its internal politics. In contrast to that internal quiet, however, has been an aggressive and changing foreign policy through which Qatar has pursued a new role of power in the region. Since the 1990s, Qatar has been forced to rethink its position in the region due to geopolitical changes. With the ascendancy of ...

The arrest and torture of several 15 year old boys in March sparked a national protest movement in Syria calling for the fall of the Assad government, to the surprise of policymakers and pundits alike that once saw the Syrian regime as immune from widespread popular unrest. Marwan Maalouf, an international human rights lawyer who oversaw human rights and democracy promotion in the Middle East for Freedom House from 2009 to 2011, and Khattar Torbey, an ...

On November 25, 2011, Morocco held early parliamentary elections which witnessed the rise of  an Islamic party and a boycott by the youth-led “February 20th Movement.”   Political Scientist John P. Entelis, the Director of Middle East Studies at Fordham University and editor of The Journal of North African Studies, examines the significance of the results of Morocco’s parliamentary elections and the nature of Morocco’s reform process. Despite a comparatively pluralistic ...

Women have played a central role in the uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, and now, as some of these countries undergo transitions, women’s rights must be incorporated into broader demands for social, economic, and political reform. In the latest POMED policy brief, Isobel Coleman examines the women’s movements in Tunisia and Egypt in the context of the Arab Spring. A transition to an inclusive, authentic democracy will ...

On June 13, Deborah A. McCarthy, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, spoke about the United States' commitment to engaging with partners and allies in the Middle East. According to McCarthy, the U.S. has taken numerous steps to help the region, including providing financial support to stabilize Egypt and Tunisia's economies.  In addition, the U.S. is also working with parliament to create enterprise ...