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 ...
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 ...
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–”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
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
New POMED Policy Brief: “The Gezi Park Protests: Time for a New U.S. Approach to Turkey”
In POMED's latest policy brief, "The Gezi Park Protests: Time for a New U.S. Approach to Turkey," Professor Howard Eissenstat writes, "Amidst ongoing protests in Turkey, the media has focused its attention on both the causes of the crisis and the Turkish government’s response. Despite this focus, there have been noticeably few assessments of potential outcomes, or recommendations for a broader U.S. response. This brief attempts to help fill that gap, with a ...
June 11, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Featured, Leadership Transitions, Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Reform
June 10, 2013
Category: Elections, Featured, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Journalism, Parliament, Political Islam, Political transition, Reform
Yemen Begins Second Round of National Talks
On Saturday, Yemen convened the second round of its national dialogue aimed at drafting a new constitution and preparing for elections in 2014 led by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi. The dialogue was part of a U.N.-brokered deal that eased ...
June 7, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Political Islam, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics
Obama Attends Meeting With Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain
President Obama dropped by a meeting between Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken and Bahraini Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa on Wednesday. According to a statement released by NSC Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden, President Obama reaffirmed U.S. ...
New Palestinian Prime Minister Appointed
Rami Hamdallah has been appointed Prime Minister of Palestine by President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamdallah is a well-respected academic and head of al-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus. The recent appointment came after former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad ...
POMED Notes: “Morocco’s Rule of Law Reforms: Toward an Evolved Perspective on Diaspora Engagement”
The George Washington University Law School hosted a panel discussion on Morocco’s rule of law reforms on Sunday. It featured His Excellency Abdellatif Mazouz, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Moroccans living abroad, Richard C. Rowson, President Emeritus of the Council for a Community of Democracies, and Samir Bennis, Editor-in-Chief, Morocco World News. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. His Excellency Abdellatif Mazouz ...
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 – “Can Tunisia Succeed as a Model?”
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) hosted its 14th Annual Conference titled "Democratic Transitions in the Arab World" on May 29th, 2013. The conference included several panel discussions, one of which examined whether the Tunisian experience could succeed as a model for other post-revolution Arab countries and featured John Carey, Chair of the Department of Government at Dartmouth College; Joelle Fiss, Senior Associate at Human Rights ...
May 31, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Event Notes, Political transition, Reform, Tunisia, Uncategorized, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: CSID 14th Annual Conference – “How a Proper Understanding of Islam Can Help Democracy”
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) hosted its 14th Annual Conference titled "Democratic Transitions in the Arab World" on May 29th, 2013. The conference included several panel discussions. The first panel discussed how a proper understanding of Islam could help democracy and featured Dr. John Voll, professor of Islamic history and Associate Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University; ...
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
POMED Notes: CSID 14th Annual Conference–”What the U.S. Can Do to Support Democratic Transitions in the Middle East”
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy hosted a conference titled "Democratic Transitions in the Arab World." The conference included a panel on "What the U.S. Can Do to Support Democratic Transitions in the Middle East" featured Radwan Ziadeh, founder and Director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies in Syria and cofounder and Executive Director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies; Peter Mandaville, ...
May 31, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political transition, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
Magarief Resigns Following Passage of Political Isolation Law
Mohammed Magarief , the head of Libya's national assembly, resigned on Tuesday, weeks after lawmakers passed a Political Isolation Law that would ban former Gaddafi officials from senior posts regardless of their role during Libya's uprising. Many fear that this law ...