POMED Notes: “The Resistible Rise of the Islamists?”
The Woodrow Wilson Center held an event titled “The Resistible Rise of the Islamists?” on February 27th featuring Marina Ottaway, Senior Scholar at the Wilson Center, and Les Campbell, Senior Associate and Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa at the National Democratic Institute. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, moderated. The event coincided with the release of Ottaway’s paper “The Resistible Rise of Islamist Parties.” For full event ...
February 28, 2013
Category: Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Islamist movements, Morocco, Muslim Brotherhood, Tunisia
POMED’s Weekly Wire – February 25
POMED's Weekly Wire newsletter for the week of February 25th is now available. In this edition, we cover the following top stories: Sec. Kerry Preps for Egypt Visit, Morsi Announces Election Date Sen. Corker Meets with Tunisian Officials, New PM Chosen Lebanese Legislative Committees Approve Draft Elec. Law Yemeni Dialogue Planning Stalls amid Resignations, Protester Deaths Iranian Supreme Leader Meets with Reformists To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.
POMED Video of the Day: POMEPS Conversation with Matthew Buehler on Morocco’s PJD, Mauritanian Politics
In its latest conversation, the Project on Middle East Political Science's Marc Lynch hosted a conversation with doctoral candidate Matthew Buehler. In the interview, Buehler discusses the political landscape in Morocco and the PJD's role since the November 2011 elections, as well as the political situation in Mauritania. Buehler's doctoral dissertation compares the success and failure of opposition alliances between Islamists and leftists in the Arab Spring, specifically in Tunisia, Morocco, and ...
February 22, 2013
Category: Mauritania, Morocco, Political Islam, Political transition, Reform, Tunisia
Ex-Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali Declines Return
After discussions with Ennahda leaders and President Moncef Marzouki, Hamadi Jebali declined Ennahda's offer for him to resume his post as Tunisia's Prime Minister. After failing to gain enough support for his technocratic government proposal over the weekend, Jebali kept his ...
Video of the Day: Shadi Hamid Talks Political Islam
In a recent interview with Tunisia Live, Shadi Hamid, Research Director at Brookings Doha Center, discusses political Islam in Tunisia and the political landscape in which Ennahda operates.
Tunisian PM Resigns After Technocrat Government Proposal Fails
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigned from his post on Tuesday after Ennahda, his own party, rejected his plan to form a government of technocrats. "I vowed that if my initiative did not succeed, I would resign and I have ...
Tunisia Discusses Government Change, Bank Announces Business Aid
The Council of Elders recommended to Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali that he form a national unity government rather than a government of technocrats. They said the formation of a unity government would enhance the legitimacy of Tunisia's political institutions ...
February 14, 2013
Category: Featured, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Parliament, Political transition, Reform, Secularism, Tunisia
POMED Notes: “Elections and Politics in North Africa”
On Monday, February 11 the Elliot School of International Affairs’ Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University hosted a panel discussion entitled “Elections and Politics in North Africa.” The panel featured Ellen Lust, Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale University, Lindsay Benstead, Professor of Political Science at Portland State University and Matthew Buehler, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Texas-Austin, and was moderated by Marc Lynch, Associate Professor ...
February 13, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Morocco, Political transition, Reform, Tunisia
Weekly Wire – February 11
POMED's Weekly Wire for February 11 is now available. This week, we cover these and other top stories: Bahrain National Dialogue Underway Yemen’s National Dialogue Scheduled, Karman to Boycott Libyan Constitutional Commission to be Elected Tunisia Navigates Political Crisis after Opposition Leader's Assassination Assad Spurns Negotiations Offer,Rebels Capture Dam To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.
Yemen National Dialogue Set to Begin in March
Yemen's president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, announced Wednesday that the long-awaited national dialogue conference will open on March 18. Plagued by a southern separatist movement and disagreement among opposition parties concerning participation, the dialogue aims to build a framework ...
February 8, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Featured, Parliament, Political transition, Reform, Tunisia, Yemen
Belaid Assassination Followed by Political Crisis
In response to massive public outcry following yesterday’s assassination of prominent opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, Ennahda Prime Minister Hamdi Jebali announced that he would dismiss the Islamist-led coalition government—known as the Troika—in favor of a non-partisan technocratic government ...
February 7, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Elections, Featured, Political transition, Protests, Tunisia
Tunisian Cabinet Shuffle Talks Break Down
Discussions on a cabinet reshuffle in Tunisia have come to a halt this weekend. The talks broke down after the Congress for the Republic, a secular member of the governing coalition, asked that certain Islamist officials connected to Ennahda, ...
Syrian Opposition Chief Hints at Dialogue, Tunisia Extends State of Emergency
Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib announced Wednesday a willingness to meet with officials of President Bashar al Assad's government, a reversal from the opposition's earlier precondition that Assad must step down before a dialogue could be held. “I ...
January 31, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Conflict, Featured, Political transition, Syria, Tunisia
Weekly Wire – January 28
POMED's Weekly Wire for the week of January 28 is now available. This week's edition covers these and other highlights: Jordan Election Turnout Exceeds 50 Percent, MB Boycotts Sec. Clinton Testifies on Benghazi, Kerry Confirmation Hearing Commences Protests Mark Egypt Revolution Anniversary; State of Emergency Declared World Bank Approves $500m Loan to Tunisia Iraq: Seven Protesters, Two Police Killed in Protests To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.
January 28, 2013
Category: Committee Meetings, Congress, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, US foreign policy, Weekly Wire
POMED Notes: “Freedom in the World 2013: Democratic Breakthroughs in the Balance”
On Wednesday, January 16, 2013, Freedom House and the Council on Foreign Relations hosted a panel discussion on the release of Freedom House’s annual report on the state of political rights and civil liberties in the world, entitled “Freedom in the World 2013: Democratic Breakthroughs in the Balance.” The panel, moderated by Foreign Affairs Correspondent for CNN Jill Dougherty, featured Arch Puddington, Vice President for Research at Freedom House; Larry ...
January 18, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Gulf, Morocco, Political Islam, Political transition, POMED, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen
Freedom House: “Middle East Gains Provoke Intensified Repression”
Freedom House released on Wednesday a report titled "Freedom in the World 2013: Middle East Gains Provoke Intensified Repression." Freedom House found "impressive gains" in the past year despite being a region "notable for sectarian polarization, ...
POMED Notes: “Two Years Later: Assessing Tunisia’s Progress since the Jasmine Revolution”
On Monday (1/14), the Project on Middle East Democracy, the Tunisian American Young Professionals, and the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) hosted a panel discussion entitled “Two Years Later: Assessing Tunisia’s Progress since the Jasmine Revolution.” The panel, moderated by founder and President of the Tunisian Young American Professionals Mohamed Malouche, featured Leila Chennoufi, Senior Environmental Specialist for the InterAmerican Development Bank; Stephen McInerney, Executive Director ...