Tag Archives: egypt

The recent string of “elections” across the Arab world raises profound questions about the Arab world’s apparent difficulty in adopting institutions and practices of liberal pluralistic democracies. But is the problem really about the ability of Arab social values to accommodate democracy, or is there a deeper problem related to the clumsy nature of statehood that has emerged in this …

It does appear that the Arab Spring has bypassed the Arab monarchies. All the predictions of turmoil, upheaval, and catastrophe in Jordan have been proven wrong. With aplomb, King Abdullah saved the country from the worst aspects of the Arab spring. Jordan’s King Abdullah II hails from the Hashemite Kingdom, and is a 43rd descendent of the prophet Muhammad. Therefore, …

In a recent Slate article, Anne Applebaum makes the case that Egypt’s presumptive president-to-be ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi should look to India, Brazil or South Africa, rather than the United States or other industrialized states, for examples of how to “do” democracy. She rightly notes that Sisi’s argument that Egypt isn’t ready for democracy is an old standby for authoritarian regimes. …

On Wednesday, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Western leaders should set their differences aside with Russia regarding Ukraine so that they can focus on the growing hazard of Islamic terrorism. In a speech, the Middle East envoy said that expansion of extremist ideology in the region along with in Afghanistan, North Africa and Pakistan “represents the biggest threat …

Several rights groups led by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said on Wednesday that sexual violence against women in Egypt has been abundant since the 2011 uprising and that women protesters had been the target of sexual attacks with impunity, they said. In their report, the groups said that “successive Egyptian governments have failed to address violence against …