Maghreb
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Migrants and entrepreneurship in Germany
Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci – a rare success story?
When news broke that a vaccine against COVID-19 developed by a Turkish-born couple in Germany had promising results, many media reports placed the ethnic background of these scientists above the importance of the story itself. While migrant entrepreneurship might still be regarded as something rare in Germany, research shows that more and more migrants are launching their own businesses. By Sertan Sanderson
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Algeria: how the Hirak fared in 2020
Protestors still calling for genuine democracy
Algeria has not found peace since Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was president for 20 years, resigned under massive public pressure in April 2019. On 1 November 2020, the government held a constitutional referendum to end the political crisis. But things did not work out as it planned. On the contrary, the rifts between the regime and the pro-democracy movement have deepened further. The opposition now wants to use the momentum from the latest wave of protests to better organise itself. By Sofian Philip Naceur
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Civil society held hostage by corruption and murder
Libya's peace process doomed to failure without its women
Libya is disintegrating into chaos and lawlessness. Women who stand up to those in charge of the country end up fearing for their lives, even though it is these very women who could bring stability to the country. An analysis by Andrea Backhaus
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10 years of Arabellion
The buds of the Arab Spring
Ten years after the start of the Arabellion in North Africa and the Middle East, many view the movement as a failure. But rather than being over, it has now entered a more mature phase with new forms of protest. An assessment by Claudia Mende
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Authoritarianism and underdevelopment in the Islamic world
Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy alliance
U.S. political scientist Ahmet T. Kuru from San Diego State University traces historical developments in the region and seeks the causes behind today's problems. Kuru received the American Political Science Association Award for his book in 2020. Musa Bagrac read it for Qantara.de
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Democracy in the Maghreb
Tebboune's 'New Algeria' looks a lot like the old Algeria
Algeria's recent referendum was a thinly veiled attempt to hijack the agenda of the country's popular Hirak protest movement. Yet the people are no longer willing to accept ageing leaders who rely on a veneer of democracy to maintain their rule. Legitimacy will only be achieved by genuine structural reforms. By Dalia Ghanem
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Arab reactions to the U.S. presidential election
"The world needs a break from the Trump era!"
Just like the rest of the world, the Arab region and Arabic-language media have been watching spellbound over the last few days as U.S. President Donald Trump was voted out of office. Christopher Resch summarises some of the editorials for Qantara.de
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France, terrorism and identity politics
Emmanuel Macron's determination to pick the wrong battle
Emmanuel Macron appears to want to rekindle the old conflicts between Occident and Orient. He blusters on about a "crisis of Islam", as if oblivious to the more acute crises society is facing these days, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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COVID-19 and fake news in the Middle East
Arabs find comfort in coronavirus conspiracy theories
In the Arab region, fake news relating to COVID-19 claims that people who have been cured "convert to Islam" or that "Muslims are immune" to the disease. Long-established conspiracy theories have a bearing on the rumours. Another contributing factor is that people have no faith in the authorities. By Mona Naggar
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Al Boraq, M6 and neo-liberalism
Morocco's fast-track development programme bypasses many
Morocco is receiving much international recognition for its policy of modernisation, but the weaknesses of the model are obvious. By Claudia Mende
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On the death of Matthias Wagner, founder of the Oriental Summer Academy
Mecca of Arab music in south-western Germany
Musicians from Morocco to Iraq have been crossing paths at the Oriental Summer Academy in south-western Germany for ten years. Matthias Wagner, who founded and directed the academy, recently passed away after a brief serious illness at the age of 68. An obituary by Stefan Franzen
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Mass expulsions to Niger
Algeria abandons thousands of migrants in the desert
Now that the COVID-19 crisis in Algeria has eased significantly, Algerian authorities are once again cracking down on migrants with extreme severity, expelling thousands of people to Niger in a blatant violation of international law. By Sofian Philip Naceur