In The News

Can the Internet Tame Governments? – Part II

Borje Ljunggren February 11, 2011
The internet, so essential for the modern economy, is a bane for autocratic governments thin-skinned about criticism, whose minions strive to eliminate any dissident thoughts or deeds. Internet and cell phones were less widely available in 1989, and global observers can’t help but wonder if such communications might have thwarted China’s violent crackdown on student protests at Tiananmen Square....

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...

Globalization Fuels the Arab Uprising

Frida Ghitis February 10, 2011
Global trade and competition, recognition of declining resources, rising wage inequality and prices, along with instant communications – many forces of globalization are behind uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Widespread, well-publicized discontent has made oppression more difficult to enforce, explains Frida Ghitis for World Politics Review. “For people living in the stagnant economies of the...

Can the Internet Tame Governments? – Part I

James Cowie February 9, 2011
Debate rages in the West about whether the internet in authoritarian states is a tool for winning freedoms or another device for control. In the wake of Egypt’s mass protests emerged the first case of a government’s attempt to sever an entire nation from internet access. This YaleGlobal series explores governments and the internet, and which is the taming force. The first article, written by...

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...

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-...