Upcoming POMED Event: Examining the Path Ahead: Facing Obstacles in Egypt’s Transition

This Friday, November 9 at 12:00 pm the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) presents "Examining the Path Ahead: Facing Obstacles in Egypt's Transition." The event will feature Greg Aftandilian, Senior Fellow for the Middle East at the Center for National Policy; Wael Abdel Fattah, Daily Columnist for the Al Tahrir Newspaper and the Co-founder of the Al-Akhbar Daily Newspaper; and Gameela Ismail, Steering Committee Member for the Al-Dostour Party and former candidate, 2010 & 2011 Egyptian ...

Weekly Wire – November 5th

POMED's Weekly Wire for November 5th is now available. In this week's edition, you will find these and other highlights: U.S. Withdraws Support for Syrian National Council Yemen National Dialogue Agenda Drafted Bahrain Bans Protests; POMED Exec Calls for U.S. Action to Back Up Rhetoric Egypt NGO Workers' Trial Delayed, Protests Continue over Draft Constitution Libyan PM Appoints Cabinet To continue reading the fully Weekly Wire, click here.

Photo Credit: Reuters

Egyptian Court Postpones NGO Trial

The trial of 43 NGO employees in Egypt, the proceedings of which have been denounced by U.S. officials, has been postponed until December 2. The employees were charged with “leading unregistered organizations and receiving illegal foreign funding.” However, ...

Photo Credit: mideast.foreignpolicy.com

Foreign Policy: The New Politics of Human Rights in the Middle East

Shadi Mokhtari wrote a piece detailing the growth of human rights movements within the Middle East. Regional voices calling for increased attention to human rights have grown in both  number and legitimacy over the past two years. "Where they ...

Weekly Wire – October 30

POMED's Weekly Wire for October 30th is now available. This week's edition including these and other top stories: Egypt's Constitutional Debate Heats Up Protests Continue to Roil Kuwait Qatari Emir Makes Symbolic Trip to Gaza Tunisia Tense on Anniversary of Assembly Elections Ceasefire Fails in Syria To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.

POMED Notes: Adaptable Autocrats, Regime Power in Egypt and Syria

Joshua Stacher spoke about his new book, “Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria” on Monday, October 22, at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Stacher, who has performed extensive research in both countries, is a Fellow at the Wilson Center and a Professor of Political Science at Kent State University. In his book, Stacher argues that political power structures explain the resilience of autocracies in Egypt and Syria, as well ...

Photo Credit: Reuters

Qatari Emir’s Visit to Gaza Draws Mixed Reactions

The arrival of Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani was welcomed by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh who thanked the Emir for his visit saying, “Today you have officially broken the unjust siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by ...

Photo Credit: Voice of America/AP

Egypt: Decision on Legality of Constitutional Body Delayed

Egypt’s Higher Court declined to rule on the legality of the drafting committee of Egypt’s Constitution Tuesday, sending the decision to the supreme constitutional court. Opposition leaders rejected an invitation from President Mohammed Morsi ...

Photo Credit: Richard Perry/The New York Times

Commentators Weigh In on Foreign Policy Debate

Last night's foreign policy debate between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney focused on numerous Middle East foreign policy issues, including Libya, Syria, Israel, Iran, and the U.S. approach to the Arab Spring. Both contenders agreed ...

POMED Notes – Religion, Violence, and Coexistence

The United States Institute of Peace hosted a panel discussion entitled "Religion, Violence, and Coexistence," which looked into civil society's role in preventing and addressing provocative statements of religious bias and violent responses to it. The discussion featured Suzan Johnson Cook, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom; Hoda Elshishtawy, legislative and policy analyst at the Muslim Public Affairs Council; Marc Gopin, Director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, ...

Photo Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall

Broadening U.S. Engagement With the Middle East

Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of the Project on Middle East Democracy, wrote a recent article in the Huffington Post encouraging the "United States to embrace the historic changes in the by taking action to support democratic transitions ...

POMED Notes: Policy Choices for the New Administration

The Middle East Policy Council hosted an event Wednesday (10/17) entitled “Policy Choices for the New Administration.” The event examined the Middle East policy issues which the next U.S. president should address. Questions posed included “Will the next administration seek an Israel-Palestinian solution?” “How will they address the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah issue?” “Is there a prospect for bringing Assad down, and if so, is there a post-Assad role for the U.S.?” Additionally, ...

Photo Credit: Gulf News

Tunisians at Odds Over Freedom of Speech

The American Enterprise Institute (A.E.I.) released a graph along with cited sources, illustrating the number of injuries and casualties sustained in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen since the start of the Arab Spring. The chart is ...

POMED Notes: Realism, Idealism & the Politics of Obama’s Foreign Policy

On October 16, Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy hosted a discussion by former Los Angeles Times correspondent Jim Mann and Washington Post correspondent Tom Hamburger. Mann discussed the premise of his new book, “The Obamians” and along with Hamburger, spoke on politics, foreign policy, and the current presidential campaign. For full notes, continue reading, or click here for a PDF.   Jim Mann addressed the role of foreign policy in the ...

Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Continuing Challenges to Morsi’s Leadership

Mohammed Morsi continues to face criticism regarding his time in office. A Cairo based human rights group, Nadim Center, reported that the Egyptian president has failed to meet his promise of reducing abuses by security forces. The group reports that ...

Weekly Wire – October 15

POMED's Weekly Wire for October 15th is now available. This week we cover the following top stories: Rep. McDermott, 23 Members of Congress Call on Bahrain to Pardon Medics Sec. Clinton Speaks on Reform in Maghreb Rival Factions Clash in Tahrir Congress Holds Hearing on Libya Vice Presidential Debate Features Questions on Middle East  To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.

Photo Credit: AFP

Rival Factions Clash in Tahrir Square

Supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and their opponents came to blows on October 12 in Tahrir Square. Thousands turned up to protest Morsi's failure to keep campaign promises during his first 100 days in office. "We went to ...

Photo Credit: Kuwait Times

Analysts Examine Arab World Finances, Missing Aid

The Financial Times released a special report entitled "Arab World: Banking and Finance," with key articles on Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar. Simeon Kerr wrote on Bahrain, noting the country ...

POMED Notes: Rule of Law: Rhetoric vs. Reality in Egypt’s Transition to Democracy

On Wednesday, Georgetown University’s Law School hosted a panel discussion titled “Rule of Law: Rhetoric vs. Reality in Egypt’s Transition to Democracy.” The panel included Michele Dunne, Director of the Atlantic Councils’ Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Brian Wolfman, professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and Sahar Aziz, professor at Texas Wesleyan Law and president of the Egyptian American Rule of Law Association. For full notes continue reading, or click here for ...

POMED Notes: What Are the Prospects for Democratization in the Arab World?

On October 10, Laurel Miller and Jeff Martini of the Rand Corporation held a congressional briefing summarizing one of their new publications regarding democratic transition in the Middle East. The speech started with a brief explanation of the three waves of democracy and a chart showing an increase over the last 40 years in the number of countries worldwide that are rated “free,” as opposed to “partly free” and not ...

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