• Intern Corner
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    Algeria’s Tebboune, Le Pouvoir, and the Challenges of Legitimacy

    Oct 3, 2024Nour Taha

    On September 7, Algerians headed to the polls for an early presidential election that revealed deep apathy and a potential risk to stability in Africa’s territ…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied’s Policies and Practices May Lead to an Explosion in Tunisia

    Sep 6, 2024Patricia Karam

    Tunisia has experienced a disquieting authoritarian regression over the last few years following promising beginnings as a young democracy after the January 20…

  • Intern Corner
    EgyptMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    How Egypt has Failed Palestinians in Gaza

    Aug 22, 2024Emily Costello

    Egypt’s policy for Palestinian refugees has worsened the already immense suffering of those fleeing the war on Gaza. Corruption within the border security appa…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    Middle East Leaders Prefer Trump’s Victory

    Donald J. Trump’s candidacy seems to draw more interest and support from the Middle East than from other areas of the world, particularly from among the ruling…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Limits on Egypt’s Gaza “Containment Strategy”

    Jul 1, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Egypt has opted to follow a containment strategy in order to manage the fallout from the Israeli war on Gaza, such as the spillover of the conflict into the Si…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaDemocracy and Governance

    Libya: Despite Talks on a Unified Government, Impasse Remains

    Talks last month in Cairo between representatives of Libya’s two rival governments raised hopes over progress in resolving the country’s 10-year political impa…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Unprecedented Internal Displacement in Gaza

    Feb 14, 2024Kelsey Norman

    Conflicts always produce more internally displaced individuals than refugees. While there are approximately 32 million refugees worldwide, the number of intern…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Egypt, the Gaza War, and Fears of Another Nakba

    Feb 7, 2024Charles W. Dunne

    Like most Arab countries, Egypt was stunned by the conflagration ignited by last October’s Hamas attack inside southern Israel and subsequent Israeli onslaught…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Normalization Survives Despite the Gaza War

    Jan 11, 2024Imad K. Harb

    The current Israeli war on Gaza, now well into its fourth deadly month, has cast a calamitous shadow over the lives of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as ov…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Important Considerations for the Middle East in 2024

    The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip will play a major role in shaping what unfolds in the Middle East in 20…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Egypt Muddles Through the Crisis in Gaza

    Dec 6, 2023Imad K. Harb

    Egypt has considered the Gaza Strip to be a soft underbelly since it ruled it prior to 1967, but also after it regained control of the Sinai Peninsula from Isr…

  • Viewpoint
    EgyptUS Foreign Policy

    The Menendez Fiasco: Implications for US-Egyptian Relations

    Washington has been abuzz lately over the shocking political intrigue involving the Egyptian government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the powerful former chairma…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    In Algeria, the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

    Oct 3, 2023Patricia Karam

    More than four years have passed since the Hirak protest movement threatened to upend Algeria’s political and military leadership structure. Since then, the co…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Recent Libya-Israel Debacle Is Symptomatic of Larger Problems

    The controversy and severe public backlash surrounding news of a late-August meeting between the Libyan and Israeli foreign ministers in Rome is symptomatic of…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Egypt Is in Serious Trouble Seven Decades after Its Free Officers Revolution

    Jul 25, 2023Imad K. Harb

    Seventy-one years after its July 23, 1952 Revolution, organized by the Free Officers Movement, Egypt’s difficult economic conditions threaten to unravel the ve…

  • Intern Corner
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Disinformation as a Tool of Regime Survival in Tunisia

    Jul 21, 2023C. Ian DeHaven

    Disinformation—false information created with the intent to mislead others—swamped the 2019 Tunisian presidential election, creating a confused and volatile po…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaSecurity and Defense

    The Fate of the Wagner Group in Syria, Libya, and Sudan

    The failed mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin has put the fate of his Wagner Group doubt, not only in Ukraine but in several Arab states as well.

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Egypt’s National Dialogue: A Lost Opportunity for National Salvage

    Jul 7, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    The Egyptian National Dialogue began in May 2023, following a one-year delay since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi suddenly announced plans for it in April 2022…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Rebuilding Tunisia’s Democracy Will Require a Long-Term Strategy

    Jun 22, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    For now, neither the urban middle class nor the Tunisian General Labor Union seem ready for a full-on collision with the president.

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Despite Libya’s Progress on Election Laws, Deep Divisions Remain

    Recent meetings in Morocco between representatives of Libya’s two main factions, the Government of National Unity (GNU) in the West and the House of Representa…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt and Iran: A Quest for Normalized Ties Amid Significant Obstacles

    Jun 9, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    Egypt and Iran appear to be moving toward a closer relationship and a mending of ties. In recent months, officials from both countries have engaged in multiple…

  • Policy Analysis
    MoroccoDemocracy and Governance

    Morocco’s Concerning Domestic and Foreign Policies

    Jun 7, 2023Imad K. Harb

    As Morocco works to become a pivotal power in northwest Africa’s security sphere, it continues to suffer from what can be seen as self-inflicted wounds caused …

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Tunisia’s Broken Democracy: A Preliminary Assessment

    May 12, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    With Tunisia’s slide into autocracy accelerating every day, this hardly seems the best moment to undertake a frank assessment of its democratic experiment. To …

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Sudan Crisis: How Regional Actors’ Competing Interests Fuel the Conflict

    May 11, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    The outbreak of military clashes between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds and t…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied’s Fantasies Are Drowning Tunisia

    Apr 27, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    The April 18 arrest of Rached Ghannouchi represents a dramatic escalation of Tunisian President Kais Saied’s assault on the political opposition. The leader of…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldGlobal Health and Health Policy

    Challenges Facing the Arab World’s Health Care Professionals

    Apr 26, 2023Yara M. Asi

    In 2022, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate released a shocking report, finding that over 10,000 Egyptian doctors resigned from positions in government hospitals d…

  • Viewpoint
    EgyptThe War in Ukraine

    The Fallout of Sisi’s Gambit with Russia

    Apr 14, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    A leaked US intelligence document has revealed that Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi allegedly instructed officials to secretly produce and ship rockets,…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Can Libya’s Stalemate Be Overcome?

    Apr 4, 2023Patricia Karam

    After riveting the world in 2011 with a revolution that led to the fall of Muammar Qaddafi, one of the world’s most brutal dictators, Libya has largely receded…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Geopolitics of Small Islands: The Stalemate of Tiran and Sanafir’s Transfer Impacts Egypt-Saudi Relations

    Mar 29, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    In June 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi consented to ceding sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. However, nearly si…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    US Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action

    Mar 22, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    All US presidents, it seems, need their own foreign policy “doctrine.” President James Monroe famously started the trend in 1823, and many others—Truman, Eisen…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Egypt Has Broken Its Social Contract with Its Citizens

    Mar 14, 2023Salmah Arfouly

    In response to rising oil and food prices, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recently insinuated that Egyptians should “eat tree leaves” in order to surv…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    The Success of Tunisian President Kais Saied’s Neofascist Populism

    Mar 2, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    If there was any doubt that Tunisian President Kais Saied is building a new autocracy on the rubble of Tunisia’s imperfect and short-lived democracy, that doub…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Impacting Elusive Transitions: Egypt’s Policy Toward Sudan and Libya

    Mar 1, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    The recent political developments in Sudan and Libya have generated some optimism for a potential resolution to the protracted political crises that have plagu…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaClimate and Environment

    Green Power Politics in North African Countries: Continuity or Change?

    Mar 1, 2023Achref Chibani

    In 2023, environmental and climate issues will again be at the top of the policy agenda in the Middle East and North Africa. The upcoming COP28 climate confere…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt’s Strategic Partnership with China: Opportunities and Implications

    Jan 27, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    On December 8, 2022, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the inaugural China-Ar…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaUS Foreign Policy

    US-Algeria Relations Remain Troubled, but Neither Side Wants a Break

    Relations between Washington and Algiers have remained at a low point ever since the Trump administration, in its last month in office, recognized Moroccan sov…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkey Faces a Dilemma in its Foreign Policy Toward Libya

    Jan 24, 2023Mustafa Gurbuz

    On January 9, 2023, a Libyan court suspended an energy exploration deal between Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) that was or…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldThe War in Ukraine

    Arab and Israeli Positions on Ukraine War Continue to Frustrate the US

    Jan 18, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    The positions taken by many governments in the Middle East have proven a notable exception to the global groundswell of support for Kyiv.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration and the Middle East in 2023

    The first two years of the Biden administration, although short, have offered insight into the ways in which the reality of governing can clash with declared h…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Only Tunisians Can Save Tunisia

    Jan 3, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    What if an aspiring autocrat held an election and barely anyone showed up? This question looms large following Tunisia’s December 17 parliamentary election. Wi…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Libya’s Impasse Continues Amid Mounting Migrant Problems

    Nearly a year after national elections were supposed to be held in Libya, the country is still not any closer to resolving the deep political and geographical …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptClimate and Environment

    COP27 in Egypt: Progress or Stalemate on Climate Justice?

    Dec 7, 2022Yara M. Asi

    Sharm el-Sheikh, which just half a century ago was a remote Bedouin fishing village, is now one of Egypt’s premier tourist destinations for visitors from aroun…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Egypt and the IMF: Greater Foreign Debt and Deeper Economic Decline

    Nov 17, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    Egypt reached a new agreement with the IMF to borrow $3 billion over a 46-month period. The Egyptian economy has been struggling over the past couple of years …

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied Sets the Stage for Tunisia’s December 17 Elections

    Nov 11, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    Autocrats love elections, so long as they know they will win them, of course. But because they have zero tolerance for uncertainty at the polls, autocratic reg…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Congress Versus Biden on Foreign Assistance to Egypt

    Nov 1, 2022Charles W. Dunne

    The Egypt Human Rights Caucus would like a word with President Joe Biden. The group, which was formed in January 2021 on the 10th anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 u…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt-Turkey Relations: Challenges and Future Prospects

    Oct 18, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    Over the past two years, several positive signs have emerged in the Egyptian-Turkish relationship that might result in the normalization of diplomatic relation…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Limited Options for a Resolution

    Sep 16, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    On August 12, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that his country has now completed the third filling of the reservoir behind its controversial Gran…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaClimate and Environment

    Confronting Water Scarcity in North Africa

    Aug 31, 2022Achref Chibani

    North African communities have a long history of water management and governance. From millennia-old underground water channels and other methods of water stor…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Libya’s Woes Persist in a Fractured Political Landscape

    Gregory Aftandilian examines the latest developments in Libya following the derailment of parliamentary and presidential elections and the ongoing division and…

  • Policy Analysis
    MauritaniaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Slavery in Mauritania: The Long Road to Real Emancipation

    Aug 16, 2022Amal Ghazal

    Amal Ghazal discusses the history of slavery in Mauritania, which was officially abolished in 1981, but which regardless remains a political, economic, and soc…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Tunisia’s Three Post-Referendum Political Scenarios

    Aug 8, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel Brumberg offers three potential political scenarios for Tunisia following the country's July 25 referendum on a new constitution that President Kais Sai…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Iraq-Jordan-Egypt Entente Moves Ahead Despite the GCC’s Shadow

    In recent years, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan have come together to form a sort of alliance based on shared security, political, and economic interests. Since 2019,…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Tunisia’s New Constitution Will Hasten the Country’s Transition to Autocracy

    Jul 14, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    The gathering storm provoked by Tunisian President Kais Saied’s attempt to forge a new political system could reach a critical moment on July 25. On that day T…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Egypt’s National Dialogue: Real Change or Merely a Mirage?

    Jul 13, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    Sisi’s call for a national dialogue could break through Egypt’s political stasis. However, there are several reasons to believe otherwise.

  • Viewpoint
    LibyaDemocracy and Governance

    Libya’s Belligerent Elites May Doom the Country’s Future

    Jul 5, 2022Imad K. Harb

    Once again, Libya is falling victim to its political elites’ failure to agree on a long-awaited election mechanism and constitutional provisions that would sec…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Insurgency in Sinai: Challenges and Prospects

    Jun 10, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    In May 2022, at least 16 Egyptian troops were killed in two separate attacks in the Sinai Peninsula. The attacks were claimed by Wilayat Sinai or Sinai Provinc…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Maghreb-France Relations as Macron Begins Second Term

    May 26, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

    For France to remain on good terms with North Africa, it has to be ready to offer concrete assistance and avoid what in many respects have been Macron’s symbol…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Middle East Leaders Contend with Strains in an Evolving Regional Entente

    May 13, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    In its unfolding bid to expand ties with Middle East governments, Israel must grapple with a basic challenge: how to ensure that events in the Palestinian-Isra…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Gulf Countries’ Aid to Egypt: It Is Politics, Not the Economy, Stupid!

    May 5, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    On April 4, 2022, Gulf Arab countries pledged $22 billion to help Egypt avert a currency crisis resulting from the Russian war on Ukraine. The Egyptian pound l…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied Continues His Assault on the Tunisian State

    Apr 8, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    It is difficult to say whether Tunisian President Kais Saied’s March 30 announcement that he is dissolving the country’s parliament represents a turning point …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Russia’s War on Ukraine: Egypt’s Limited Room for Maneuver

    Apr 6, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    The Russian war on Ukraine will have significant impacts on countries in the Middle East, ranging from strategic realignments to energy security and food suppl…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Libya: A Return to Uncertainty

    Mar 16, 2022Imad K. Harb

    It appears that all bets are off in Libya. Elections that were scheduled for last December were postponed as competing institutions and individuals interpret p…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Sisi Intensifies Arms Imports to Secure External Support for His Policies

    Feb 28, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    Egypt has become the third largest arms importer in the world, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The institute’s “Trends i…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Sisi’s Transnational Repression: Silencing Political Dissidents in Exile

    Jan 26, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    On January 6, the FBI arrested Pierre Girgis, an Egyptian American, for spying on critics of Egypt’s president in the United States. According to the US Depart…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    The Islamists of Northwest Africa: Accommodation and Co-optation

    Jan 26, 2022Amal Ghazal

    Analyses of Islamists in Northwest Arica—from Mauritania to Libya—follow a common pattern of distinguishing militants among them from non-militants. In particu…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Libya: Political Paralysis and Continued Uncertainty

    Gregory Aftandilian writes that the postponement of Libya’s presidential and parliamentary elections has helped plunge the country into another crisis that thr…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Can Tunisia’s Leaders Forge a New Democratic Bargain?

    Dec 29, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Nothing captures Tunisia’s crisis of democracy better than this act: the sentencing, in absentia, of former President Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison. …

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Sudan Coup: The Regional Interference behind a Faltering Transition

    Dec 11, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On October 25, 2021, Sudan’s General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan staged a coup, declared a state of emergency, dissolved the power-sharing Sovereign Council, sacked…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptReligion and Politics

    Agreements and Tensions in US-Egyptian Relations

    Dec 2, 2021Sahar Khamis

    The US-Egypt strategic dialogue was held in Washington, DC in early November between Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his American counterpart, Secre…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Is Tunisia Transitioning to a Liberalized Autocracy?

    Nov 18, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    If in the coming months Tunisia undergoes a transition, given current conditions, it will probably not be along a path back to democracy. Indeed, while Preside…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Uncertainty Overshadows Libya’s Elections

    Nov 11, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The agreement governing Libya’s advancement toward presidential and legislative elections, which are slated to be held in December, ran into serious trouble th…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Western Sahara Figures Prominently in Algeria-Morocco Tensions

    Nov 4, 2021Hasni Abidi Aboubakr Jamai

    Algeria’s Reasons for Its Dispute with MoroccoHasni Abidi is Senior Lecturer at Geneva University and Director of the Centre d’Étude et de Recherche sur le Mon…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptReligion and Politics

    Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood: Old Problems and New Divisions

    Nov 3, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    Since its removal from power in 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt continues to face many problems and challenges. Having always prided itself on being the …

  • Policy Analysis
    North Africa

    Saied’s New Decree Deepens Tunisia’s Crisis

    Oct 7, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Two telling events unfolded in Tunisia on October 3rd. The first was a demonstration by thousands of flag-waving citizens proclaiming their support for Preside…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Growing Relations between Egypt and Russia: Strategic Alliance or Marriage of Convenience?

    Sep 27, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On August 22nd, Egypt’s Minister of Defense and Military Production Mohammad Zaki made a trip to Russia with a high-level military delegation. Zaki attended th…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Arab Women Political Prisoners Jailed by US Middle East Allies

    Sep 9, 2021Sahar Khamis

    When President Joe Biden was sworn in on January 20th as the 46th president of the United States, America’s friends in particular hoped that his administration…

  • Policy Analysis
    MoroccoDemocracy and Governance

    Morocco Consolidates Its Authoritarianism

    Aug 26, 2021Houda Chograni

    Al-hogra, a North African colloquial term meaning humiliation, degradation, and abasement, drove another vulnerable Moroccan to self-immolate out of utter powe…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Risky Business: Kais Saied’s Regional Alliances

    Aug 20, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Three weeks after President Kais Saied used Article 80 of the constitution to impose what can be called a ‘state of exceptionalism,’ Tunisians are waiting for …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptClimate and Environment

    Will Egypt Live with GERD as a Bitter Reality?

    Aug 19, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On July 19, Ethiopia announced that it had completed the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). This unilateral step had been rejected b…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied Can Either Save or Destroy Tunisia’s Democracy

    Jul 27, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    The political earthquake that rocked Tunisia July 25th—65 years after the country’s independence from France—seems all too familiar. Declaring that he was dete…