Military
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Egypt plays politics with poverty
President Sisi’s COVID-19 divisive vaccine strategy
As the globe races to inoculate against coronavirus, Egypt President Sisi’s regime plans to profit from the essential shot. Making Egyptians pay for their own vaccines is part of a broader policy that places the burden of the pandemic on the shoulders of the citizenry. By Maged Mandour
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From failed state to fragile state?
Somalia and the rocky road towards greater stability
With elections on the horizon and an altered African Union mission, Somalia was meant to enter a new phase of stabilisation in 2021. But both have been postponed, and the present government seems ill-equipped to shoulder the country's considerable challenges. It is time for external stakeholders to name their terms, says Annette Weber
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Sectarian strife in Pakistan
Syria's proxy war widens gulf between Sunnis and Shias
After a period of relative calm, the conflict in Syria is reigniting the tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Pakistan: groups from both sects are involved in the clashes in Syria. The authorities fear a new wave of sectarian violence. Background by Mohammad Luqman
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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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Mask diplomacy and power politics
Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirus
In the age of corona, Ankara's regional power strategy is twofold: on the one hand, Turkey is engaged in a charm offensive to revamp its political image, which has suffered lately in certain quarters. On the other, President Erdogan is pursuing a tough policy of interests backed up by military force. By Ronald Meinardus
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Corruption in the Arab world
Why are most Arabs so prepared to trust the military?
Why do so many people in Arab countries trust the armed forces, even though most armies in the region are highly corrupt? Abdalhadi Alijla has the answers
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Death of Grup Yorum singer Helin Bolek
Against the death cult
Activist and musician Helin Bolek, member of the popular group Grup Yorum, died at the beginning of April after nearly nine months on hunger strike. She fell victim both to oppression at the hands of the Turkish state and a hostile cult of martyrdom present on the Turkish and Kurdish left, argues Tayfun Guttstadt
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Democratisation in danger
Sudan's ongoing turf war
Violent clashes between parts of the Sudanese security forces and the ominous influence of external financiers of the paramilitary "Rapid Support Forces" (RSF) are endangering the country's democratisation process. By Samuel Ramani
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International Women’s Day
Ainouz' "Nardjes A." – hope as a form of resistance
Focussing on the Algerian protest movement, "Nardjes A." by Karim Ainouz, is about the universal power of hope to change the social and political status quo in the Maghreb country. By Rene Wildangel
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Sudan's ex-dictator Bashir at the International Criminal Court
Arab dictators take note
Political scientist Ali Anouzla interprets the potentially imminent trial of Sudan's ex-dictator Omar al-Bashir before the International Criminal Court as a warning sign for numerous despots across the Arab world who must themselves answer for serious human rights violations
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Interview with Kurdish director Selim Yildiz
When one dies, the next goes up into the mountains
In his film “Dialogue“, Selim Yildiz addresses a social taboo which is a reality for many Kurds in Turkey: young men suddenly disappear and joined armed groups in the mountains. Interview by Semiran Kaya
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First anniversary of the Hirak movement
The jury's still out on Algeria
Few would have thought that Algeria's Hirak protest movement would still be mobilising the masses 12 months on from its first peaceful demonstration. According to Isabelle Werenfels and Luca Miehe, the systemic change people hoped for post-Bouteflika has yet to materialise. External players need to brace themselves for ongoing political turbulence