Geography teaches much about Tunisia, says Robert D. Kaplan, chief geopolitical analyst at Stratfor.
It is the Arab country closest to the heart of Europe, jutting out toward Sicily at the central Mediterranean’s narrowest point.
Whereas in states that …
The Obama administration should be more assertive steps to in?uence the outcome of Arab Spring transitions, engage more broadly than government-to-government relations with a diverse set of actors, and employ leverage and incentives to affect the behavior of key actors, …
Two years on from Tunisia’s Jasmine revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, has sectarianism overtaken democracy as the driving force of the region’s popular upsurge?
“Tribal, regional, and sectarian factionalism made political progress in Yemen agonizingly slow, as did tribal …
Newly emerging popular movements for reform were the driving force behind the Middle East’s major gains in democratic rights last year, according to Freedom in the World 2013, Freedom House’s annual report. But other regions experienced setbacks due to …
Transitional justice, security sector reforms, the role of international actors in advancing Arab democracy, and relations between Islamists and secularists will be among the issues to be addressed at a forthcoming conference on Democratic Transitions in the Arab World: …
“The democrats of the Arab Spring did not embrace revolution to advance liberalism,” says a prominent observer. The secular youth who started the region’s protests are one of the losers of the revolts, while the intellectual elite and the …
The uprisings across the Arab world have not only empowered illiberal actors, but may also undermine vital security interests, writes a prominent analyst.
“The uprisings of the last two years have represented a significant challenge to authoritarian rule in …
The Arab awakening is having the perverse effect of empowering some of the region’s most illiberal and anti-democratic forces, says a prominent observer.
“However much the west wants Arab societies to produce leaders with whom its feels comfortable, the turmoil …
Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party is proposing to exclude politicians associated with the former ruling party from the political process. The measure, says one analyst, “is being seen by some as a tactic to hinder an opposition front to Ennahda and ensure …
Supporters of Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party yesterday violently attacked a protest by the country’s main labor federation, AFP reports:
Several dozen assailants assaulted members of the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) who were gathered outside the union’s …