Foreign Policy reported today that Jordan’s Prime Minister Awn al-Khaswaneh has submitted his resignation papers after less that a year in office. Reportedly, al-Khaswaneh’s actions come as a result of the refusal of the Royal Court to implement meaningful reforms, the last of which is the controversial draft law introduced last month. Al-Khaswaneh’s resignation highlights the potential for instability. Al-Khaswaneh, 62, an International Court of Justice judge, formed his cabinet ...

Yesterday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) published a report in attempt to explain the often misconceived views of the Egyptian Revolution’s once supposed caretakers: the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). The report gives a thorough timeline of the fickle transition from the onset of the revolution until today. The report goes into detail about how the SCAF views itself, how it views the current political actors, as well as ...

Today, the Moroccan parliament began debating a new bill that would work to allocate powers now held by King Mohammed Vi to the prime minister. According to Magharebia, the proposed law is "considered among the most important political reforms brought by the new constitution." In attempt to separate powers, in accord with the terms of the new constitution, the bill would determine the authority of the prime minister and the king in the appointment ...

Today, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced at a press conference that Turkey has refused to allow Israel to participate in the NATO conference scheduled to take place in Chicago on May 20. “There will be no Israeli presence at the NATO meeting unless they issue a formal apology and pay compensation for the Turkish citizens their commandos killed in international waters,” said Davutoglu. State Department Spokesman Victoria Nuland avoided ...

Last Wednesday, Al Akhbar reported that nearly 1,500 Jordanians held a demonstrated demanding the release of 19 imprisoned activist charged with insulting the king, with the larger agenda of calling for political reforms. "The country is being detoryed becauses reformists are jailed while the corrupt are protected," former MP Ahmad Kafawin of the Muslim Brotherhood said speaking to a crowd chanting "The people demand the reform of the regime." On Sunday, 13 additional activists were accused of insulting the king and ...

On Friday, the Johns Hopkins, SAIS Conflict Management Program hosted a discussion titled “Tunisia: Understanding Conflict.” The panelists were students who spent a week in Tunisiainterviewing leaders and members of international organizations in Tunisand in Kairouan about the situation in Tunisia. The objective of the trip was to gain a deeper understanding of the roots the Jasmine Revolution, to evaluate the conflict management efforts that have taken place; and finally ...

On Friday, Freedom House hosted their Director in Egypt and Tunisia at their office in order to share updates on socio-political situations in the respective countries, and NGO operations in the current challenging environment. Dr. Nancy Okail, director of Freedom House in Egypt and Fathi Zabaar, director of Freed House in Tunisia shared thoughts on the developing situation. Charles Dunne, director of the Middle East and North Africa programs at ...

On Wednesday, the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, along with the French Embassy to the United States and the Alliance Française hosted a discussion titled “The Arab Spring: One Year Later.”  The panelists discussed the rapidity of the events which are irreversibly altering the face of the Middle East that have unequivocally called into question the ability of political analyses to provide the necessary tools for ...

On Tuesday, the Institute for Middle East Studies in conjunction with the Project on Middle East Political Science & The Middle East Policy Forum hosted their annual conference entitled, “The Legal Dimensions of the Arab Spring,” at the Elliot School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. The event featured a series of panels, the second of which discussed “War and Transitional Justice.” The panel was chaired by Marc ...