Game On in Tunisian Election Campaign
THE MOOR NEXT DOOR: With a week to go before Tunisia’s national election anticipation is mounting. With more than 100 parties contesting which of them is set to emerge victorious?
Jordan’s Municipal Mess Leads to Protest
NASEEM TARAWNAH: The timing is wrong, the process is wrong and the failure of the authorities to acknowledge the tribal nature of all politics in Jordan has inevitably led to protest.
Tunisian Media – It’s ‘Not Up to the Mark’
MOURAD TEYEB, CGNEWS: ‘With freedom comes responsibility’ goes the saying. The Tunisian media need to start taking their’s seriously.
Saudi Elections: What Exactly Was the Point?
CROSSROADS ARABIA: This was the election before ‘the Big One’ – the 2015 Municipal Elections where women can vote and stand for office. So was it a damp squib, as some have suggested?
What Shape Should “the New Libya” Take?
DR GHASSAN MICHEL RUBEIZ: It’s understandable that there will be significant differences in how various parties see Libya’s future. There are, though, important areas where agreement is needed
A Surprise Announcement But Is it Enough?
CROSSROADS ARABIA: King Abdullah’s announcement seemed to catch everyone by surprise. It’s clearly a very welcome step but will women in the Kingdom be satisfied with what they’ve been granted?
The Facebook Revolution. Is it really?
JAMES M. DORSEY: Autocrats – and their advisers – around the region have clearly underestimated the power of social media. But how significant has it been in effecting real change?
Three Key Questions for Islamist Politics
MUSTAFA HUSAYN ABU RUMMAN, CGNEWS: We’re living through a period of great political change and Islamist politicians are much in evidence. There are, though, some key questions that they need to answer
‘Writing the Revolution’: Two Authors Reflect
JENNIFER SEARS, ARABLIT: Two leading novelists attending an event in New York reflect on the role of intellectuals on this year’s events.
‘Arab Spring’ Is All About Sex, Apparently
DANIEL M. VARISCO: Here we go again. ‘Orientalist Historian Takes Warped Freudian View of Entire Arab population.’ Hmm, what about all those women who were in Tahrir Square?
Why Israelis Are Spooked by Arab Democracy
CHRIS KEELER: Events have combined around the region to leave Israel feeling very isolated indeed. But many commentators there simply refuse to understand the reasons why they’re in this position.
Positive Signs in UAE Election Campaign
MATT J. DUFFY: Some concerns have been raised about the stringency of the rules relating to public discourse in the UAE elections. Comments from a senior official, however, seem to have assuaged these concerns.
Is Syria Set to Become ‘the new Libya’?
CHRIS KEELER: Non-violent protest appears to be nearing its end in Syria and there are signs that groups are organising an armed resistance against the regime.
Middle East: What’s Changed Since 9/11?
HRH PRINCE EL HASSAN BIN TALAL, CGNEWS: It’s been a tumultuous decade defined in large part by violence and death but how different is the Middle East today?
Libya & NATO: “To the Victor the Spoils”?
RAMZY BAROUD: The intervention by NATO in Libya was driven by clear, strategic political and economic interests. Their aims are unlikely, however, to be in the best interests of the Libyan people.
‘Arab Spring’ Map: Not to be Taken too Seriously
DAVID ROBERTS: The author clearly has, how should we put it?, an incomplete knowledge of the region but it’s an amusing take on recent regional events.
TweetNadwa: 140 Seconds to Say It As You See It
MEHRUNISA QAYYUM, CGNEWS: Inspired by Twitter a grassroots Egyptian organisation has set up an online forum that limits participants to 140 seconds air time.
Ex Brotherhood Members Speak Out
MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: What exactly is the Muslim Brotherhood’s ‘game-plan’ for Egypt? One way of finding out is to talk to former loyalists…
The Struggle for Egypt’s Soul Has Only Begun
MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: I’ve spent a lot of time with the key players in Egypt’s developing democracy. It’s very clear that the real battle for the country’s – and the region’s – future has just begun.
Egypt: Looking At It Like a ‘Crotchety, Old Man’
DAVID ROBERTS: It’s perhaps the cynicism of age but looking back at the early days of the Egyptian revolution there were quite a few of us who raised flags that all wouldn’t be ‘rosy in the garden’.
