Libya after Gaddafi
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Non-fiction: ″The Age of Jihad ″ by Patrick Cockburn
A catalogue of blunders
″The Age of Jihad: The Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East″ by journalist Patrick Cockburn traces not just the rise of Islamic State and other extremist groups who are striving for power in Muslim countries, but how American and British foreign policy in this century has contributed directly to their emergence. Richard Marcus read the book
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Libya
Facing hell in Sirte
The war against the Islamic State Group is taking a heavy toll on Libya, especially on the youth at the front line, and a military victory is only the first step toward stability, writes Valerie Stocker
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Alsatoor, Libya′s caricaturist
The pen is mightier
Since the 1970s, the Libyan Hasan Dhaimish, aka Alsatoor, has furnished a mostly Arabic public with daringly acerbic political observations about his former homeland. His son, Sherif Dhaimish, looks back over his long career – a career that is far from over
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Migration pact with Africa
The EU′s paper tiger
The EU claims that the migration pact with Africa is a completely new initiative. Rather than reshaping patterns of migration, however, Europe′s desperate politics of symbolism would merely seem to focus on stemming the flow. By Ludger Schadomsky
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Political crisis in Libya
United we stand?
Four months after the signing of one of the UN-backed peace agreements between the conflict parties in Libya, the unity government may have arrived in the capital, but it is still uncertain when it will be able to fully assume power. Valerie Stocker reports from Tripoli
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Gaddafi and the West's military intervention
A nation forsworn, forsaken, forgotten
The political situation in Libya five years after the fall of Gaddafi is disastrous. President Obama recently admitted that the mistakes made by NATO could have been avoided. Now, more than ever, it is important to pursue the right strategy, says Gareth Evans, former chairman of the International Crisis Group
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Reforming the Arab security sector
A plea for transparency
In many Arab countries, comprehensive democratisation and national reconciliation is needed if urgently needed security sector reforms are to have the desired effect, says Yezid Sayigh, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut
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Interview with Martin Kobler, UN Special Representative on Libya
"Libya must not become the Syria of tomorrow"
In view of the advance of IS in Libya, the UN's Special Representative on Libya, Martin Kobler, warns of the need for swift action: the Libyan state must reinstate its monopoly on the use of force to enable it to take appropriate counter measures. Karim El-Gawhary spoke to the German diplomat
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Book review: ″The New Waw: Saharan Oasis″ by Ibrahim al-Koni
Cultivating the strange
Recognised with the 2015 National Translation Award last autumn, Ibrahim al-Koni′s novel ″The New Waw: Saharan Oasis″ may seem an odd choice. After all his latest work manages to flout Western literary conventions and confound reader expectations. And yet, argues Marcia Lynx Qualey, that is precisely its appeal
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Five years of Arab Spring
The butterfly effect
It was the flap of a butterfly wing that was to trigger a storm in Europe. Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in 2010 sent a clear signal: things were about to change. Despite many setbacks, the impact of this message is still being felt. By Karim El-Gawhary
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Geopolitics in the Middle East
A new century dawns
There is no doubt that the crisis-riven Middle East is beset by some unique challenges. As Jeffrey Sachs argues, however, these are not the Sunni-Shia political divide, the future of Assad or other doctrinal disputes, but rather the unmet need for quality education, job skills, advanced technologies and sustainable development
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Peace treaty signed by warring factions in Libya
The steep road to national unity
Although the event was not the main focus of international attention, the agreement signed by Libya′s rival factions in the Moroccan coastal city of Skhirat this week is perhaps more important for Europe than the European summit meeting that took place the same day. By Karim El-Gawhary