“The invasion of Ukraine has affected the Egyptian economy, especially in regards to wheat prices, as has the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the underlying problems and roots of the crisis have been brewing for years as the economic crisis is largely driven by political economic choices which President Sisi has made.”
“The NSC Democracy Directorate reliably asserts that democracy and human rights are not just values, but vital national security interests. It remains difficult to get other national security officials on board with this approach. . . . It would require people willing to break with the status quo to implement democracy and human rights as the center of our foreign policy.”
“Erdoğan might pull a January 6. . . . How would [the Biden administration] feel if in just three months, Turkey has its first unfree election in decades . . . and they have sold the F-16 to Turkey just months before?”
“This is an important step by the administration, reaffirming to the Egyptian government that its human rights record will affect the relationship, and we have seen President Sisi’s government take some positive steps in response.”
Amy Hawthorne said the conditions cited on the tranche of $75 million included progress on political prisoners and on due process. “Any objective observers would say Egypt has not made clear and constant progress on either of those conditions, especially the second one,” she said. “This is rewarding the Egyptian government for something that is at most a half measure.”
“Turkey really needs Russia’s blessing in order to be able to carry on this operation (in Syria.) And so I think they’re really going to try to get that kind of a concession out of the Russian side.”
“[NATO allies] want to demonstrate to Russia that NATO is more united than ever and that even Erdogan’s Turkey won’t be able to spoil that. So Erdogan knows that he can get away with [bargaining over Sweden and Finland’s membership].”
“To many Turkish citizens, such Western efforts to shore up ties with a loathed Turkish autocrat—while trumpeting the cause of democracy in Ukraine, no less—only serve to reaffirm some of the key reasons why they distrust the West’s intentions.”
“Right now NATO is more united than ever. A veto would damage the relationship so much, Erdogan will not go that far… He wants US attention so he can show his domestic audience that he can threaten and get something done with it.”
Sign up to receive timely insights and analyses from our experts, the latest democracy and human rights-related news from the Middle East and North Africa, and highlights from POMED’s publications and events.
The advocacy program promotes a pro-democracy U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We engage with policymakers in Congress and the executive branch and collaborate with a broad coalition of activists and advocates in Washington and MENA who support democracy and human rights in the region.
The civil society partnerships program builds the capacity of emerging regional policy centers through mentorship and technical training. We work with civil society organizations across the MENA region to strengthen advocacy writing skills, promote policy reform, and improve institutional practices to help ensure organizational viability and impact.
The research program produces innovative, rigorous analysis on how genuine democracies can develop in the Middle East and North Africa and how the United States can best support this process. Our work examines civil society, governance, and movements for rights and freedoms in the region as well as U.S. foreign policy toward these issues.
“The people who give us, the member of Congress, these briefs on what to do, on how to solve these big problems, they far too often have something to gain—have profits in the game—from viewing these problems through a purely military lens. There are often military costs to problems, but POMED gives a much more comprehensive, a much more holistic view of the problem and the solution. And all of us—and certainly Congress—are better off for it.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy
Connecticut
“POMED – as all of you know very well – continues to play a hugely important role in focusing all of us on a central reality in the Middle East, and that is that at the core of much of the disorder that all of us see today are some very important deficits, deficits of freedom, of opportunity, and dignity.”
U.S. Ambassador William J. Burns
Previous
Next
Support Our Work
Donate now to help support democratic reform and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa.
Your support helps POMED continue our expert analysis and research, nonpartisan advocacy efforts, and partnerships with grassroots organizations in the MENA region.
|
Commentary – Democracy Over Autocracy: The Missing Middle East