The rapidly escalating conflict in Syria is raising the collective volume of voices asking, “What can and should President Obama do in Syria?” The reality is that Syria’s future is inextricably tied to the future stability of the entire MENA region. Today, I turn to Cassie Chesley, …
The U.N. Security Council is currently debating a draft resolution on whether or not to extend the peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara (MINURSO) ahead of the April 30, 2013 deadline. For more than 20 years, the U.N. Security Council has debated, then renewed the mandate of …
As the Atlantic Community examines “What can the US do to promote security in the Sahel?” the discussion must focus on the importance of U.S. partnerships in the region. Too often, meaningful and successful U.S. intervention to address conflicts and threats to security is erroneously envisioned as …
“There have been gains in Tunisia. Through disagreements, controversies and blunders, the new phase, once the government is fully endorsed and up and running, will usher a new realism – a wake-up call […]” – Dr Larbi Sadiki regional expert and author of Arab Democratization: Elections without Democracy …
“The United States is struggling to confront an uptick in threats from the world’s newest jihadist hot spot with limited intelligence and few partners to help as the Obama administration weighs how to keep Islamic extremists in North Africa from jeopardizing national security without launching war. We want …
In today’s Guest Post, Jean AbiNader shares his interesting perspective on a recent article on Egypt by former Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S., Nabil Fahmy which appeared in the summer 2012 issue of the Cairo Review of Global Affairs. Jean, a long-time Middle …
So many of us whose work, lives and studies involve the Arab world have spent the last year making sure everyone realized that each country’s ‘Arab Spring’ experience is unique. That said, there is a need to step back and take a …
As policymakers, international affairs experts and enthusiasts, we talk a lot here about Africa. But now, those on the African continent are increasingly using tools to make themselves part of the #conversation.
This week, a first-of-its-kind study, “How Africa Tweets” was published by Portland …
2011 has been a year filled with change, reform, progress and challenges across the Middle East and North Africa, Morocco included. As we anticipate what 2012 holds for the region, here’s a recap of key moments in 2011 for Morocco:
February 20 – Thousands demonstrated across Morocco in solidarity with protesters …
Morocco is often left out of the Arab Spring discussion by policymakers and the media, largely because the demonstrations in Morocco took place peacefully, there was no regime change and the reform process proceeded relatively swiftly and transparently. It is also due to the fact that Morocco wasn’t caught blind-sided …
And you thought your biggest social media worry was being defriended.
Last week, the New York Times published an interesting piece on the use of social media by terrorist groups. They focused on a recent Twitter battle instigated by the Somalia-based, loosely al-Qaeda …
Today, in Washington, DC there was a really interesting roundtable, “What’s Next for Morocco? Assessing opportunities and challenges after the elections.” The experts on the panel were academics, think tank leaders and former US diplomats. (Click here for a full …
Today, the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence held a REALLY interesting hearing on Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based militant group—which they deem an “emerging threat to the U.S. homeland.” (Color me surprised… it is a rare occasion when US policymakers …
There’s a LOT going on in the Middle East/North Africa this week—elections in Morocco and Egypt, unrest in Syria, crackdown on protesters in Bahrain…the list goes on. Don’t have time to sift through all the commentaries and coverage? No problem. Let me break it down for …
Yesterday, Moroccans went to the polls for the first parliamentary elections after the Constitutional referendum earlier this summer. As I mentioned last week, there would be three questions to answer after the elections, so let’s see
1) What was the turnout?
The official figure is
