HRW Reports on Civil Society Restrictions in Bahrain
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a new report titled "Interfere, Restrict, Control: Restraints on Freedom of Association in Bahrain." The report details the repressive laws and policies that restrain civic and political groups and trade unions in Bahrain. The report ...
June 20, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, United Nations, US foreign policy
Egyptian Opposition Group: U.S. Ambassador’s Comments “Blatant Interference”
Egypt's National Association for Change (NAC), a broad coalition of pro-democracy groups led by Mohammed ElBaradei, criticised U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson for her comments regarding the Egyptian Army and the mass opposition protests scheduled for June ...
June 19, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Civil-Military Relations, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Legislation, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Protests, US foreign policy, US politics
June 18, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil-Military Relations, Courts and Judiciary, Diplomacy, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Protests, Reform, Social Media, Turkey, Uncategorized, US foreign policy
Amendment on US-MENA Tear Gas Sales in NDAA
During the recent mark up of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (H.R. 1960), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced an amendment (H.R. 4310) that would place certain restrictions on the sale of ...
Turkish Unions Strike Protesting Police Crackdown
Five Turkish unions have announced a one day strike in response to what they called "police violence." Clashes between police and protesters continued over the weekend despite Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's eviction of protesters on Saturday. The unions ...
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference-”A New Ruling Bargain- Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) co-hosted a conference titled "Dynamic Gulf: Forces of Change in a Strategic Region." The second panel, “A New Ruling Bargain? Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics,” was moderated by Prof. Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the George Washington University, and featured panelists Andrew Hammond, former Reuters correspondent for Saudi Arabia, Ali Al Shihabi, ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Economics, Egypt, Freedom, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Oman, Political Islam, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen
POMED Notes: House Subcommittee Hearing “American NGOs Under Attack in Morsi’s Egypt”
On Wednesday, June 13, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled "American NGOs Under Attack in Morsi's Egypt." The Honorable Lorne W. Craner, President of the International Republican Institute, Mr. Charles W. Dunne, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Freedom House, Ms. Joyce Barnathan, President of the International Center for Journalists, and Mr. Kenneth Wollack, President of the National Democratic Institute, testified. The ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Egypt, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood
Iran Extends Voting Period During Election Day
Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Moammad Najar announced that the voting period in today's presidential elections in the country will be extended to grant Iran's more than 50 million eligible voters more time to cast their ballots. The polls opened ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Reform
Google Detects Iran Phishing Scam Ahead of Friday Election
Google claims it has detected and stopped tens of thousands of phishing scams targeting the email accounts of Iranian users in light of the June 14 presidential election. According to Google, the timing and targets suggest that the attacks ...
June 13, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Journalism
Calm in Taksim Square Following Violent Clashes
Protests continued into the night in central Istanbul as police attempted to clear Taksim Square with tear gas and water cannons. The square has been largely cleared with bulldozers appearing at dawn to clear away debris however protesters have ...
June 12, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Journalism, Protests, Turkey
Erdogan Vows to Press Ahead on Gezi Park Plans
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan returned from a North African tour on Thursday and was greeted at the airport by a crowd of supporters while protesters continued to rally in Taksim Square. While in Tunisia, Prime Minister Erdogan
June 7, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Political Islam, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics
Saudi Arabia Blocks Messaging Application
Saudi Arabia has blocked the messaging application Viber after the company refused to be monitored by the government. This comes after a government warning to Viber, Skype, Whatsapp and other messaging services in March. The government has not yet ...
June 7, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, US foreign policy
Video of the Day: Bahraini Activist Maryam al-Khawaja at TEDxSOAS
Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja recently delivered a TEDx talk at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.
POMED Notes: National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Panel – “Democracy Think Tanks in Action”
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) hosted a panel titled “Democracy Think Tanks in Action: Translating Research into Policy in Young and Emerging Democracies” on June 3, 2013 at their office on F Street in Washington, DC. Christopher Walker of the International Forum for Democratic Studies (a component of NED) moderated the panel, which featured report contributors Orazio Bellettini, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Grupo FARO in Ecuador and Sami ...
June 4, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Freedom, Human Rights, Lebanon, NGOs
POMED Notes: “The Role of Women and Islam in the New Tunisia”
An event by Freedom House, "The Role of Women and Islam in the New Tunisia," featured Tunisian activist and researcher Dr. Kedija Arfaoui. The event was held Question and Answer style and was moderated by Freedom House Egypt Program Director Nancy Okail, who began the discussion by commenting on Tunisia's role as a model for the emerging democracies in the region. She mentioned that positive developments in Tunisia are often ...
June 4, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Event Notes, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Political Islam, Political transition, Tunisia, Women
June 3, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, NATO, Protests, Turkey, Uncategorized, US foreign policy
U.S. State Dept. Concerned Over Egypt NGO Law
U.S. State Department Spoekswoman Jennifer Psaki expressed the U.S.'s concerns over a new draft of a controversial NGO law in Egypt that was presented by President Mohamad Morsi this week to Egypt's Shura Council. The bill seeks to reform Egypt's ...
May 31, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Civil-Military Relations, Courts and Judiciary, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Parliament, Political transition, Reform, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: CSID 14th Annual Conference Keynote Speaker Rached Ghannouchi
The Center for the Study of Democracy's event titled "Democratic Transitions in the Arab World" featured a keynote speech by Rached Ghannouchi, founder and President of the Nahda Movement in Tunisia. Ghannouchi began by emphasizing that the success of Tunisia's democratic transition was important not just for Tunisia, but for the region as a whole. Ghannouchi pointed to his party's willingness to form a broad coalition with support from across ...
May 31, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Elections, Event Notes, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Political Islam, Political transition, Reform, Secularism, Tunisia