Politics

The Palestinian and Israeli flags (photo: A. Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) Interview with Andreas Reinicke

''A Phase of Strategic Reorientation''

Andreas Reinicke, the EU's Special Representative to the Middle East Peace Process, believes that Egypt will continue to play a constructive role in the region in the future. He also urges Israel's new government to agree to a two-state peace solution. Michael Knigge spoke to him about the situation in the Middle East More »


Demonstraters carry a puppet representing Egyptian President Morsi on Cairo's Tahrir Square (photo: Reuters) Political Power Struggle in Egypt

On the Brink of Ungovernability

Current events in Egypt are often represented as a confrontation between two camps: one that is bent on establishing a dictatorship, while the other one is struggling to defend freedom and democracy. In reality, all parties in Egypt today are pushing the country to the brink of ungovernability, says Nagwan El Ashwal More »


Protests against Yemen's former president Saleh in Sanaa, February 2011 (photo: AP) Yemen and the Arab Spring

Revolution on Hold

While political turbulence continues unabated in Tunisia and Egypt – the two countries where the Arab Spring started – and a bloody civil war still rages unchecked in Syria, the transition in Yemen seems to have ground to a complete halt. By Nader Alsarras More »


Supporters of the Muslim Brothers holding up pictures of president Mursi (photo: AP) Muslim Brothers as Victims

''25 TV Stations Are Working against Us''

Unfair media coverage, hostile opposition, and violent demonstrators: Many Muslim Brothers see themselves as being wrongly attacked. A visit to a party office of the Islamists in Cairo. By Markus Symank More »


A supporter of the ruling Ennahda party shouts slogans in support of the party during a demonstration in Tunis February 9, 2013 (photo: Louafi Larbi/Reuters) Islamism and Secularism after the Arab Spring

Muslim's Multiple Modernities

For Muslim societies, the way to democracy will inevitably involve religious politics, says Nader Hashemi in his essay. And for historical reasons, he argues, Muslim societies will develop different concepts of democracy than the ones common in the West More »


Syrian anti-regime protesters wave pre-Baath Syrian flags, now used by the Free Syrian Army, during a demonstration after the weekly Friday prayers in the Bustan al-Qasr district of the northern city of Aleppo on February 8, 2013 (photo: Aamir Qureishi/AFP/Getty Images) European Policy on Syria

The Time for Caution is Past

In view of the suffering and the destruction in Syria and the reticence of the US, the Europeans must assume more responsibility. They should expedite the reconstruction of liberated territories, bolster the National Coalition, finance rebels fighting for a democratic Syria and apply diplomatic pressure to pave the way for a political transition, says Kristin Helberg More »


Supporters of the Islamist Ennahda party in Tunis (photo: Reuters) Essay by Amel Grami

A Turning Point in Tunisia's Transition

According to the renowned Tunisian academic and intellectual Amel Grami, the two-pronged policy being pursued by the Islamist Ennahda party under the leadership of Rachid Ghannouchi threatens to split Tunisian society in two and push the revolution to the brink of the abyss More »


Anti-government protests of the 20 February movement in Rabat (photo: AP) The Moroccan Pro-Democracy Movement

Down, But Not Out

The Moroccan protest movement has lost much of its initial momentum. A clever strategy on the part of the palace, that has combined political concessions with repression, a lack of allies, the international economy and the fate of the uprisings in other Arab countries have all severely weakened the movement. But the Kingdom of Morocco has not seen the last of protests and uprisings. By Beat Stauffer More »


Mourners carry the coffin of slain opposition leader Chokri Belaid during his funeral procession towards the nearby cemetery of El-Jellaz in Tunis, February 8, 2013 (photo: Reuters) Tunisia's Government in Crisis

A Political Earthquake

The murder of the leftist politician Chokri Belaid has plunged the nation's already beleaguered government into deep crisis. In particular Ennahda, the strongest party in the coalition, now has its back to the wall. Sarah Mersch reports from Tunis More »


Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaking to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a state visit to Tehran (photo: AP) Iran's Role in the Syrian Civil War

Masters and Servants

As the military situation has grown more and more difficult for Syria's Baath regime, Iran has become an irreplaceable ally for President Assad. The mullahs have succeeded in extending their influence in Damascus and building up a network of militias in Syria. Birgit Svensson reports More »