A new brief published by the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center details the grim prospects for women's rights under the country's constitution, adopted by public referendum in December.  The author, Moushira Khattab, a former Egyptian ambassador ...

On January 4, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)  introduced a bill, "Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should provide, on an annual basis, an amount equal to at least one percent of United States gross domestic product (GDP) for nonmilitary ...

Egypt’s president Mohamed Morsi signed an executive order enacting Egypt’s new constitution on December 25. The referendum vote still remains under dispute however, as the National Council for Human Rights reported 1,073 complaints from civil society ...

Egypt concluded the second round of its constitutional referendum on December 22 and unofficial results indicate that the draft successfully passed. The Muslim Brotherhood suggested that the initiative garnered a 64 percent "yes" vote, although officials numbers will ...

Egypt held the long awaited referendum for its highly contentious draft constitution on December 15.  The first round of voting took place in ten of Egypt's 27 districts, including Cairo and Alexandria, while a second round will take place on ...

The Egyptian Supreme Court postponed its ruling on the legitimacy of the Constituent Assembly, stating that a mob of Islamists had blocked the judges from entering the courthouse, in an “abhorrent scene of shame and disgrace.” The judges said ...

The trial of ex-Qahafi Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi began on November 12, but was adjourned until December 10 to allow the defense and prosecution additional time to review case documents. Mahmoudi has been charged with embezzlement and corruption, in addition ...

M. Steven Fish and Katherine Michel wrote a piece highlighting what Tunisia has done right on its path to democratic reform. Despite the country’s issues with security and unemployment, Fish and Michel emphasize that the constitution's call for ...

The European Union awarded its Sakharov Prize for Human Rights and Freedom of Thought to two Iranian activists on October 26. Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi, both currently imprisoned by the Iranian regime, were awarded the ...

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 ...

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 ...

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah provoked outrage by opposition groups after suggesting an amendment to a key constituency electoral law. Demonstrations comprised of between 5,000-20,000 people also broke out yesterday. Speaking to the protesters, former lawmaker Musallam al-Barrak

State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland explained that due to concern from Congress over the recently-announced $450 million of assistance pledged to Egypt, the State Department is "going to have to work with the Congress in the coming days ...

Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chairwoman of the congressional subcommittee administering foreign aid, blocked $450 million in emergency aid for Egypt, part of a larger debate that has been brewing in the Congress about U.S. aid for the Middle East. ...

On September 14, Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Bob Corker (R-TN), both members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,  introduced S. 3551, a bill requiring investigations into a report on the September 11-12, 2012, attacks on ...