POMED Report: Analyzing the FY13 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bills
The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) released a report contrasting the House and Senate Appropriations bills for fiscal year 2013, examining the potential impact of these bills on foreign aid and democracy assistance. Among the notable findings are additional ...
POMED Report: Egypt NGO Backgrounder
Deeply troubled by the news this week that the Egyptian Ministry of Justice is charging 43 employees of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) has compiled a backgrounder report about the situation. The report includes: Timeline of events since the investigation was commissioned in July Summary of the charges Examination of the existing Law on Associations (84/2002) and the new draft associations law proposed in January Profile of Minister of ...
Summary and Highlights of the FY12 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bills
On Wednesday 7/27, the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee held a markup session and voted to pass the 2012 State and Foreign Operations Appropirations Bill, as is, to the full committee. The bill would provide $39.6 billion ...
Summary and Highlights of the FY12 Foreign Relations Authorization Act
On Wednesday 7/20, the House Foreign Affairs Committee convened a Committee markup for consideration of H.R. 2583, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2012. The markup hearing concluded on the evening of Thursday 7/21, authorizing $48.3 billion in ...
New POMED Policy Brief: Rethinking Development Assistance in the Middle East
In the latest POMED policy brief, CIPE Executive Director John Sullivan explores the impact of the State Department's Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) in the wake of the dramatic events in the Middle East. Click here for the ...
POMED Report Now Available in Arabic
One month ago, POMED released its annual report on the Obama administration's FY 2011 federal budget request for democracy, governance, and human rights in the Middle East. Today, as part of our efforts to expand access to POMED's publications, we held an event in Cairo to launch an Arabic version of the report. The full Arabic report is now available on our website to download as a pdf.
POMED Notes: “FY2011 Appropriations and Middle East Democracy”
The Project on Middle East Democracy and the Heinrich Böll Foundation co-hosted an event on Capitol Hill to mark the release of a new publication, The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011: Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights in the Middle East. What are the most significant changes in these portions of the budget request, as compared with the appropriations made in previous years? How does the budget impact ...
POMED Report: “Strategies for Engaging Political Islam”
Political Islam is the single most active political force in the Middle East today. To offer insights into this critical issue, the Project on Middle East Democracy partnered with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung to bring together scholars and experts from the Middle East, the United States, and Europe. Moderated by Nathan Brown, Director of George Washington University’s Institute for Middle East Studies, guests discussed the topic “Strategies for Engaging Political Islam: A ...
Egypt: Is Obama Prioritizing Democratic Reforms?
This morning, the Washington Post editorialized that President Obama and his foreign policy team lack a firm commitment toward democratic reforms in Egypt. The paper singled out comments by U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to argue that the Obama Administration, unlike its predecessor, "appears to have put democracy promotion in the region on a back burner." The Post further laments the administration's foreign ...
Mubarak Comes to Washington
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived in the U.S. on Saturday for his first visit in six years. Today, Mubarak will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Mubarak's meeting with President Obama tomorrow is set to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Sudan, regional security and the Iranian nuclear program, leaving little space for discussion of human rights and democracy, reports al-Arabiya. In the Washington Post today, Michele Dunne writes that the uptick ...
POMED Report in the Spotlight
Ben Smith at Politico writes about POMED's recent report that analyzes the 2010 foreign aid budget in the lens of democracy promotion. Citing President Obama's budget cuts for democracy and civil society promotion for allies Egypt and Jordan, Smith highlights some potential contradictions in new U.S. policy about Middle East democracy promotion: "The return to 'realism' is an element of Obama's agenda that has rankled with some of his allies on ...
POMED’s Budget Analysis Hits the Airwaves
Mohamed Elshinnawi at Voice of America writes about POMED's newest report, The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010: Democracy, Governance and Human Rights in the Middle East (click here to access the report). Elshinawi reports that the POMED analysis provides insight into the Obama administration's plans for promoting democracy in the Middle East, where funding for democracy programs has been increased overall.
New POMED Report on Egypt
Be sure to check out POMED's new policy paper on how the U.S. and its European allies can better promote democratic reform and human rights in Egypt. Written by Greg Aftandilian, "Looking Forward: An Integrated Strategy for Supporting Democracy and Human Rights in Egypt" is being released as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is due to visit the White House on May 26 and President Barack Obama will be delivering a major address ...
POMED Event this Wednesday
Come join us for a very timely discussion of strategies for supporting democracy and human rights in Egypt. The upcoming visits by President Mubarak to Washington and President Obama to Cairo will be watched closely for signals as to the place of democracy and human rights in a changing U.S.-Egypt relationship. On Wednesday afternoon, POMED will be hosting an event on Capitol Hill marking the release of a new paper ...
Three New POMED Papers Released
The Project on Middle East Democracy has recently released its analysis of the FY 2009 budget by POMED Advocacy Director, Stephen McInerney, as well as two papers by POMED's Director of Dialogue Programs, David DeBartolo, which outline the perceptions of U.S. democracy promotion efforts in the Middle East.
Analysis of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill
POMED has prepared a report that compares the presidential budget, House, Senate and final omnibus versions of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2008, H.R. 2764. The original House version of the bill passed on June 22, 2007, and a Senate version then passed on September 6, 2007. As year-end efforts to agree on FY08 funding came to a head in late fall, the ...