In The News

Analysis: Fallout From Egypt Being Felt in Region

Brian Murphy February 11, 2011
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak has resigned after 18 days of mounting nonviolent protests, followed by mass labor strikes, stalling an economy that benefited but only a few. The protests – persistent, self-policed, nonviolent, largely leaderless – orchestrated a homegrown revolution. The Egyptian military, trained and partly funded by the US, has taken control of the government; Egyptians...

Foreign Islamists Get Little Support in Egypt

Farnaz Fassihi, Matt Bradley February 10, 2011
Iranian and Hezbollah clerics have tried to co-opt the Egyptian opposition movement, suggesting that their brand of Islamic fundamentalism and 1979 revolution were influences. But the suggestion is outlandish, considering Iran’s brutal crackdown on its own young protesters seeking political and economic reforms more recently in 2009. The Muslim Brotherhood and Sunni clerics swiftly rejected the...

Egypt Violence Exposes Secret Tools of State Repression

Frank Gardner February 8, 2011
After a week of reporting on Egypt’s pro-democracy protests, international journalists abruptly became the target of harassment and attacks from plainclothes police and men expressing support for President Mubarak. Some reporters were beaten, handcuffed, interrogated – routine intimidation of ordinary citizens by police forces in nations under authoritarian rule. If intended to curtail coverage...

Obama's Pressure on Mubarak Could Cost US Regional Influence

Howard LaFranchi February 8, 2011
It’s no secret that the US values democracy, free speech and representative government – and that the regimes ruling Arab nations in the Middle East resist those values. “The Obama administration has so far followed a bifurcated approach of supporting both the popular uprisings sweeping across the region and friendly regimes moving to implement reforms,” writes Howard LaFranchi for the Christian...

The Arab Rising – Part III

Barry Rubin February 7, 2011
Trust is frayed in the Middle East, between nations and within, as revealed by two weeks of massive protests and fearful reactions to calls for Egypt’s president to step down. Leaders of Egypt, Yemen and Jordan scramble to offer reforms, and the international community grapples with the fact that transition in Arab governments could come sooner than they wish. Governance in these nations could go...

BE, Before Egypt. AE, After Egypt.

Thomas L. Friedman February 7, 2011
With enduring protests in Egypt and beyond, global and regional powers realize new polices are required for the Middle East. Israel is alarmed that a major ally is under siege by its own people. President Hosni Mubarak delayed reforms, advising the international community that Egypt’s governance had but two directions: his style of harsh authoritarian rule or that of Islamic extremists. But anti-...

The Arab Rising – Part II

Jamsheed K. Choksy, Carol E. B. Choksy February 4, 2011
Anger rages in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and throughout the Middle East. Protesters plead for international support in their demands for democracy and economic reforms, and this YaleGlobal series examines the implications of the Arab upsurge. Iran, long intent on promoting Islamic governance throughout the Middle East, has been swift to grab the opportunity offered by the turmoil, explain Jamsheed K....