In The News

How African Is the Arab Revolution?

Khaled Diab April 7, 2011
Kenyans closely follow news of the revolts in North Africa, reports journalist Khaled Diab in an essay for the Mail & Guardian, and some question if the unrest could spread to sub-Saharan Africa. Countries across Africa share demographic trends, including masses of young people, high unemployment rates and authoritarian leaders. However, tribal divisions and limits on internet communications...

Libya Exposes Fault Lines in the Mediterranean – Part II

Shashank Joshi March 28, 2011
At the behest of a divided Arab League, NATO forces began enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. Such unified intervention is rare, not seen since the 1991 coalition that pushed Iraq back after its invasion of Kuwait, explains researcher Shashank Joshi, in the second article of a YaleGlobal series. Support for Libya’s desperate rebels could give the region’s other dictators pause before attacking...

Libya: When Bombs Fall and Allies Fall Apart

Dilip Hiro March 21, 2011
Protests in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi, in power for 42 years, began in mid-February. As Gaddafi’s repression turned increasingly brutal, calls emerged within the Middle East, Europe and the US for limited intervention – a no-fly zone to stop his forces from launching aerial attacks against civilians and rebels. Decision-makers were divided: Among the concerns was reinforcing the impression...

Holy Smokes! The Saudis are in Bahrain

Rami G. Khouri March 18, 2011
Protests for reform toppled governments in Egypt and Tunisia, and continue to pressure governments throughout the region. But regimes in Libya, Iran and Bahrain are fighting back. Writing for the Daily Star, Rami G. Khouri notes that entry of Saudi and Emirati troops into Bahrain to assist a Sunni regime in subduing Shiite protests raises many concerns: The intervention could heighten Shiite-...

How to Get Gaddafi

Niall Ferguson March 18, 2011
“The reality is that very few revolutions, good or bad, succeed without some foreign assistance,” argues historian Niall Ferguson in an essay for Newsweek. The French aided George Washington with the US revolution; the Soviets armed Mao – and since this essay was published, the UN Security Council voted to authorize military action against Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. Without foreign support,...

Painful Price of Forging a Democratic Era

Roula Khalaf March 11, 2011
Libyans protesters want to remove a leader in place for more than 40 years, yet unlike Egypt or Tunisia, Libya confronts civil war rather than a peaceful transition, explains Roula Khalaf, Middle East editor for the Financial Times. Muammar Gaddafi unleashes military attacks on his own people, seeking to retain his grip over Libya’s oil and economy. In Tunisia and Egypt, leaders had relatively...

Religion May Not Dominate Post-Revolutionary Middle East

Endy M. Bayuni March 11, 2011
Arabs throughout the Middle East and North Africa long for the basic freedoms taken for granted in the West. With governments overthrown in Tunisia and Egypt and unrest raging elsewhere in the region, analysts worry about religious motivations and how these might influence governance. Such a narrow focus is misdirected, explains Endy M. Bayuni, visiting fellow with the East-West Center. The...