On Tuesday, the International Institute for Strategic Studies in the United-States (IISS-US) hosted a round table followed by a discussion. The round table dealt with the Arab World perspective regarding the upheaval in Syria, particularly from the Gulf approach. The lecturer was Mr. Emile Hokayem, Senior Fellow for Regional Security at the IISS-Middle East in Manama, Bahrain. The moderator was Mr. Andrew Parasiliti, Executive Director, IISS-US and Corresponding Director, IISS-Middle ...

Representatives Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced a resolution with David Dreier (R-CA), Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and David Price (D-NC) applauding Tunisia's peaceful "Jasmine Revolution." The resolution praised Tunisia's peaceful "Jasmine Revolution" as "the first of several movements throughout the Middle East and North Africa and inspired democracy and human rights activist throughout the region and around the world." The elections on October 23, 2011 were considered "the first competitive, multi-party democratic election of the ...

Thomas Lippman, reporting for the New York Times, said, "Saudi women shatter the lingerie ceiling." The Ministry of Labor enforced a Saudi royal decree, issued last summer, mandating sales personnel in women's apparel and cosmetic shops to be female. Saudi Labour Minister, Adel Faqih, declared, "this is an order from the King ... All preparations are under way to fully implement this decision." The Ministry of Labor reported that more than 28,000 women ...

E.U. leaders formally banned imports of oil from Iran, and other economic sanctions, in response to its continued nuclear programme. The decision to continue with sanctions was ratified by all 27 member states. The embargo aims to take an estimated daily 2.6 million barrels of Iranian oil off the international market, with all existing contacts to be phased out by July 1. E.U. Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, said in response to the recent embargo "I ...

On Thursday, Freedom House held an event discussing the release of their annual Freedom in the World report. Presenting his research and findings was Arch Puddington, vice president for research at Freedom House. Additionally present on the panel was Robert Kagan, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA, Daniel Brumberg, professor of government at Georgetown University and senior advisor at the U.S. Institute ...

On Thursday, the New America Foundation’s Middle East Task Force and National Securities Studies Program hosted a presentation analyzing the political crisis in Iraq following the U.S. military’s withdrawal in December of 2011. On the panel was Douglas Ollivant, a senior National Security Studies Fellow at the New America Foundation and former Director for Iraq at the National Security Council; Joel Rayburn, a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army and ...

On Wednesday, the Hudson Institute’s Centre for Religious Freedom hosted a lecture offering an analysis of the potential implications of the Arab uprising in the short- and longer-term. The discussion panel raised questions on: the rise of the Islamists; the impact on religious minorities in the region; and general changes expected on geopolitics in the region. Discussants on the panel included Walter Russell Mead, Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard ...

POMED’s Weekly Wire for December 12 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of Ambassador Ford's return to Syria, and the State Department's official launch of a “virtual embassy” for Iranians. Bashar al-Assad also conducted an interview with Barbara Walters as violence continued throughout Syria. Additionally, the SCAF announced that it would appoint an advisory council to oversee the drafting of the constitution, while a unity government was formed in Bahrain. ...

POMED's Weekly Wire for November 7 is now available. This week's edition includes coverage of continued violence in Syria, as well as of an elderly opposition member who was reportedly beaten to death in Bahrain. The expanding political role of Qatar was widely discussed, and Egyptian activists faced further mistreatment from the SCAF. In Washington, more members of Congress signed on to the resolution to halt the proposed $53 million ...

The National Endowment for Democracy has extended its deadline for the full-time, paid residential Reagan-Fascell Fellows Program until November 8. "Journalists and other civil society professionals from developing and aspiring democracies are invited to apply for a full-time residential fellowship. Also open to democratic practitioners and scholars, it is organized by the National Endowment for Democracy at the International Forum for Democratic Studies in Washington, D.C. The Forum hosts 16 to 20 Reagan-Fascell Fellows every year. Applications ...

On Tuesday, the Arab American Institute hosted an event entitled “A View From the Ground: Egypt's Aspirations and U.S. Interests” featuring Ahmed Maher of the Egyptian April 6 Youth Movement. Maher's speech started with a brief history of April 6 and the Egyptian revolution against Mubarak, followed by a discussion of current April 6 efforts to continue the momentum from the revolution. For complete event notes, continue reading.  Or, click here ...

On Wednesday the Bipartisan Policy Center held a panel discussion of Egypt’s transition and its prospects for democracy. Michael Makovsky, foreign policy director for the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) gave an introductory speech to the discussion panel. The discussion was moderated by Susan Glasser, editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine. Panelists included Ambassador James Glassman, Executive Director for the George W. Bush Institute, Zainab al-Suwaij, Executive Director of the ...

On Thursday, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) hosted a discussion panel looking at the prospects for free media in post-Gadhafi Libya. Carl Gershman opened up the discussion with a brief speech. The panel was moderated by Amira Maaty, program officer with the National Endowment for Democracy. The panel consisted of Fadel Lamen, president of the American Libyan Council, Jamal Dajani, vice president of Internews Network, Torben Brandt, a media ...

On Thursday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hosted an event titled Post-Revolutionary Egypt: New Trends in Islam. The panel was moderated by Marina Ottaway, a senior associate of the Carnegie Middle East Program, and featured Jonathan Brown, an assistant professor at Georgetown University, Nathan Brown, a professor at George Washington University, and Khaled Elgindy, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. The panelists focused their discussion mostly around ...