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
Bouteflika Remains Ill, Succession Speculation Continues
In an effort to reassure the Algerian public of his good health, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika made a television appearance last week from his hospital bed in Paris. President Bouteflika suffered a stroke in April, and an initial statement from his ...
POMED Notes: “Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa Hearing: Elections in Iran: The Regime Cementing its Control”
On Tuesday, June 18, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “Elections in Iran: The Regime Cementing its Control.” Mr. Alireza Nader, Senior International Policy Analyst at RAND Corporation, Dr. Suzanne Maloney, Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and Mr. Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Associate at the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, testified. The subcommittee’s ...
June 19, 2013
Category: Committee Meetings, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Israel, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Secularism, Syria, UN Security Council, US foreign policy, US politics, Women, Youth
G8 Summit Calls for Urgent Syria Peace Conference
On Monday, senior officials of the Group of Eight (G8) met for a two-day conference to draft a statement on the war in Syria acceptable to both Russia and to those who seek to depose President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting’s ...
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
Saudi Women Sentenced to Jail; Shia Unrest Continues
Two Saudi Arabian women have been sentenced to ten months in jail and a two year travel ban for helping a Canadian woman leave her Saudi husband. Equality Now, an NGO dedicated to women's rights, explained that the Canadian ...
June 18, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Protests, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism
POMED Notes: “Turkey and the Arab Spring”
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a panel on Thursday, June 13, 2013 from 3-5pm on Turkey’s role in and response to the Arab Spring protests, political transitions, and revolutions. The panel was hosted by Christian Ostermann, director of the History and Public Policy Program (HAPP) and the director of the European Studies (ES) program at the Wilson Center, and featured Bülent Aras, Chairman of the Turkish Foreign ...
June 17, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Economics, Egypt, EU, Event Notes, Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kurdish Region, Libya, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey
POMED Notes: Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey: “The Turkey-Iran-Iraq Nexus”
On Friday, June 14, the Middle East Institute held its Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey. The final panel was entitled “The Turkey-Iran-Iraq Nexus” and featured Henri Barkey, professor of international relations and department chair at Lehigh University, Denise Natali, Minerva Chair at National Defense University, and Alireza Nader, senior international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. The panel was moderated by Phebe Marr, a historian and analyst of modern Iraq. ...
Analysts React to Rouhani’s Presidential Victory
In the wake of Hassan Rouhani's win in Iran's elections on Friday, analysts have produced varying responses regarding the election's implications on Iran's future. Speaking of U.S.-Iranian relations going forward, Vali Nasr wrote that Rouhani's election was not a change in ...
Rouhani Calls for “Path of Moderation” in First Press Conference
In his first press conference since Friday's elections, newly elected Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said he would "follow the path of moderation and justice, not extremism," and declared his electoral win the beginning of "a new era." Rouhani
POMED Notes: Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey: “Keynote Address by Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay”
On Friday, June 14, the Middle East Institute held its Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey, which featured keynote speaker His Excellency Besir Atalay, the deputy prime minister of Turkey. During his speech, he discussed the ongoing demonstrations in Turkey, the Kurdish issue as well as the crisis in Syria. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. Deputy Prime Minister Atalay began his remarks by commenting on the Gezi Park ...
POMED Notes: Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey: “Keynote Address by Representative Ed Whitfield”
The Middle East Institute held its Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey on Friday, June 14, which commenced with keynote speaker Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. Rep. Whitfield began by saying the American-Turkish relationship is very important, explaining that he was one of the founders of the Turkish caucus in Congress. He added that ...
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 ...
Senior Muslim Brotherhood Member Discusses Egyptian NGO Law
Amr Darrag, Senior Muslim Brotherhood member, professor of engineering at Cairo University, and recently appointed Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, commented on the goals of the controversial proposed NGO law in a ...
June 17, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political Islam, US foreign policy
Kuwait Court Dissolves Parliament
Kuwait’s Constitutional Court ordered for the dissolution of parliament on Sunday and called for new elections. The top court’s ruling came after an opposition challenge to the voting system was thrown out. The case had questioned the constitutionality of ...
Iran’s Moderate Candidate Wins by Large Margin
Moderate candidate Hassan Rouhani has been elected as president of Iran to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rouhani reportedly won more than 50 percent of the vote, which was enough to avoid a second round runoff. During his campaign, Rouhani promised ...
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: Dynamic Gulf Conference–”Continuity and Change in the Gulf: How Stable and For How Long?”
The Project on Middle East Democracy and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace cohosted a three-panel conference on Friday, June 14, 2013. The final panel was entitled “Continuity and Change in the Gulf: How Stable and For How Long?” It featured Kristian Coates-Ulrichsen, Baker Institute Fellow for Kuwait at Rice University, Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, and Mark Lynch, Associate Professor of Political Science and ...
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference–”New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists”
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 first panel, "New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists", was moderated by Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of POMED, and featured as panelists Kristin Smith Diwan, Assistant Professor of Comparative and Regional Studies at the American University School of International Service; Jane ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Event Notes, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US foreign policy, Women, Youth