In POMED's latest policy brief, John P. Entelis argues that the U.S. cannot continue to prioritize oil and security over democratic reform in its relationship with Algeria. Civil unrest that occurred alongside the uprisings of the Arab Spring pushed the Algerian regime to make political concessions, such as legalizing new political parties and holding parliamentary elections. Despite the apparent value of these concessions, Algerian opposition members argued these were largely superficial, as ...

In POMED's latest policy brief, Atiaf Alwazir argues that the United States should be utilizing this historic moment in Yemeni politics to shift its policy from a narrow focus on counterterrorism to a wider range of economic and political support. With a new president in power, Yemen has the opportunity to fundamentally restructure its political and military system, but multiple obstacles stand in its path. The Yemeni military remains a disjointed ...

In POMED’s latest policy brief, Quinn Mecham, Assistant Professor at Middlebury College, details the success of Islamist groups in the Middle East over the last year and how the U.S. should engage with these groups. In the past six months, Islamist parties or blocs have won elections in multiple countries in the Arab world and may also yet emerge as dominant political actors in other countries affected by popular uprisings. While ...

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 ...

The United States faces a dilemma in Bahrain as the situation on the ground becomes increasingly precarious. POMED’s latest policy brief, authored by Thomas W. Lippman, examines  the strategic partnership between the United States and Bahrain against a backdrop of Bahrain's human rights violations. The small island nation is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s fifth fleet and is a crucial actor in the regional competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. also ...

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 ...