Arab Spring
All topics-
Sarhan Dhouib's "Erinnerungen an Unrecht"
Memories of injustice – for the liberation of Arab identity
The memory of experienced injustice plays a central role in the transformation of societies towards democracy. In the Arab world, the critical study of memory is only just emerging. The Tunisian philosopher Sarhan Dhouib from the University of Hildesheim has made an important contribution with his anthology, writes Sonja Hegasy in her review
-
Middle East
Arabs ease Assad's isolation as U.S. looks elsewhere
While Bashar al-Assad is still shunned by the West, which blames him for a decade of brutal war in Syria, a shift is under way in the Middle East, where Arab allies of the United States are bringing him in from the cold by reviving economic and diplomatic ties. By Maha El Dahan
-
Hisham A. Hellyer on "the War on Terror"
"You cannot rely on the West"
Western states have fought against terrorism not only in Afghanistan, but also in Syria and Iraq – leaving behind people who were once their partners in fear and poverty. Hisham A. Hellyer talks in interview about the "war on terror" and the role played by the West 20 years on. Interview by Andrea Backhaus
-
Electioneering in Libya
Could Muammar Gaddafi's family stage a comeback?
The children of Libya's brutal and erratic former dictator Muammar Gaddafi are becoming more popular as the country's elections, scheduled for 24 December, approach. Some fear they could benefit from an increasingly fragmented political scene. By Cathrin Schaer
-
Diwan and the dialogue of cultures
Nadia Wassef's bookshop memoir – a chronicle of Egypt's upheaval
Egyptian author Nadia Wassef talks about opening the first independent bookstore in her home country; and her latest book in which she celebrates books and booksellers. By Manasi Gopalakrishnan
-
Arab world
"The people aren't ready" – can Arabs do democracy?
"The people aren’t ready for democracy" has been the constitutional basis for Arab tyranny, its favourite slogan and its sacred narrative for more than a century. Yet, asks Khaled Hroub, what chance does democracy have, unless it is repeatedly put to the test by the people at all levels of society?
-
9/11 twenty years on
How the 'War on Terror' destabilised the Middle East
Two decades after the attacks of 11 September 2001, the West faces the shattered debris of its failure – not only in Afghanistan, but also in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen. What went wrong in the war on terror? And what lessons can Europe learn from it? Essay by Kristin Helberg
-
Mohammed VI and the Arab Spring
What happened to Morocco's 2011 constitution?
Morocco's 2011 Arab Spring constitution has been hijacked by the deep state, which is asserting its own authoritarian interpretation and turning the clock back decades. Analysis by Mohamed Taifouri
-
Mohammed VI's coefficient swindle
Moroccan elections will be about maths, not change
The country's national election on 8 September will likely bring new government. But neither experts nor locals expect it to bring long-promised change, writes Cathrin Schaer
-
Middle East conflict
"The Palestinians face repression on all sides"
Hamas in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and Israel: Palestinians have fewer and fewer rights, says Khaled Elgindy. The Middle East could escalate at any time. An interview by Andrea Backhaus
-
Death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt
An act of reckoning
Attracting little attention from the world at large, Egypt's military regime has been mercilessly going after dissidents. Now, the first executions of prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood loom. All the while, the true extent of the crackdown remains unknown. By Jannis Hagmann
-
The crisis in Tunisia
Tunisia’s turmoil is being watched warily around the globe
"Coups are not only started by the military; they can be started by a civilian and completed by officers”, said Shady Lewis Boutros, an Egyptian novelist and writer who lives in the U.K.