Egypt
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By Michael Allen on January 20, 2010
Authoritarian regimes have deliberately targeted and intensified attacks against human rights and democracy advocates over the past year, according to the annual review of Human Rights Watch. [read full story]
Posted in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Blogs, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Human rights, Kenya, National Endowment for Democracy, Regions, Sri Lanka, authoritarianism, democracy, democracy promotion, democracy support, dissidents | Tagged Afghanistan, authoritarian, azerbaijan, burundi, china, democracy, Democratic Republic of the Congo, dissidents, Egypt, ethiopia, human rights watch, Kenya, National Endowment for Democracy, NGOs, non-governmental organizations, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, turkmenistan, uzbekistan |
By Michael Allen on October 28, 2009
Democracy assistance groups are often cautioned against engaging political Islamists in the Middle East on the grounds that, even when self-professed reformists, they remain closet authoritarians holding unsavory political views. Better to support the region’s beleaguered liberals and democrats, we’re told.
But does that also apply to Arab liberals?
The “dirty little secret” of some leading Egyptian [read full story]
Posted in Egypt, Islam/politics, National Endowment for Democracy, dissidents | Tagged aymen nour, Egypt |
By Michael Allen on July 28, 2009
Is Egypt stable or on the verge of collapse? The “profound social ramifications” of high levels of unemployment and underemployment, including acute social inequality and a sense of hopelessness and alienation among large swathes of the young, combined with the regime’s inertia and corruption, are creating a dangerous political cocktail, writes Aladdin Elaasar.
“The regime blames [read full story]
Posted in Egypt, Islam/politics, Labour/labor unions, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, corruption, promoting democracy | Tagged Aladdin Elaasar, Center for Trade Union and Workers Services, Egypt, Egyptian Trade Union Federation, International Trade Union Confederation, muslim brotherhood, National Democratic Party, National Endowment for Democracy, Pakistani lawyers’ movement, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Solidarity Center |
By Michael Allen on June 5, 2009
Obama’s Cairo speech continues to attract comment, not least on the subject of promoting human rights and democracy in the Middle East.
On democracy promotion, the speech reflects a “big retreat to realism”, writes David Brooks, dashing hopes that Obama would push “a gradual, bottom-up democracy-building initiative” in the region:
This effort would begin with projects to [read full story]
Posted in Democracy assistance, Human rights, Islam/politics, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, Women, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, promoting democracy | Tagged democracy promotion, economic development, Egypt, mukhabarat, Muslim World, obama administration, promoting democracy, promoting human rights and democracy, syria, Women's rights |
By Michael Allen on June 4, 2009
While welcoming Obama’s Cairo speech for potentially sparking a renewal of Arab democratic discourse, activists like publisher and human rights activist Hisham Kassem are concerned less with what Obama says than what he does.
In this respect, concerns were voiced at today’s Capitol Hill meeting discussing how new authoritarians are undermining democracy when conservative and liberal [read full story]
Posted in Democracy assistance, Egypt, Human rights, Islam/politics, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, promoting democracy | Tagged civil society, Egypt, Freedom Agenda, Hisham Kassem, Human rights, new authoritarians, Obama's Cairo speech, promoting democracy, Undermining Democracy |
By Michael Allen on June 2, 2009
The audience for President Obama’s Cairo speech will include participants or invitees from across the range of Egypt’s political actors, the White House has confirmed. The administration has not yet confirmed whether the president will meet separately with dissidents or opposition political but has suggested that “there will be additional opportunity to engage key actors [read full story]
Posted in Democracy assistance, Egypt, Human rights, Islam/politics, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, dissidents, promoting democracy | Tagged arab reform, Democracy and Human Rights in Egypt, democracy promotion, democratization, Egypt, Freedom House, Middle East Partnership Initiative, muslim brotherhood, National Democratic Institute, obama administration, Obama Cairo speech, Project on Middle East Democracy, promoting democracy |
By Michael Allen on May 29, 2009
President Barack Obama’s speech in Egypt next week will need to balance strategic and diplomatic considerations with a clear commitment to democratic reform in the region, writes J. Scott Carpenter. But Obama is likely, perhaps even compelled, to prioritize economic and security concerns over democracy promotion, writes William Galston, a board member of the National [read full story]
Posted in Democracy assistance, Human rights, Labour/labor unions, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, dissidents | Tagged Arab democracy, ayman nour, democracy and human rights strategy, democratic reform, dissidents, Egypt, governance, National Endowment for Democracy, President Barack Obama, promoting democracy, rule of law, William Galston |
By Michael Allen on May 13, 2009
The new May edition of the indispensable Arab Reform Bulletin includes the usual quota of insightful articles, including Egypt: Will The Muslim Brotherhood Run in 2010?, by Denis Sullivan; Mauritania: An Election to Consolidate the Coup, by Christopher Boucek; Hossam Ezzedine’s Palestine: The Long-Delayed Hope for Fatah’s Rebirth; and Saudi Arabia: Judicial Reform and the Principle of [read full story]
Posted in Analysis, Human rights, Islam/politics, Middle East and North Africa, authoritarianism | Tagged Arab democracy, arab reform, Egypt, judicial reform, muslim brotherhood |
By Michael Allen on May 13, 2009
Barack Obama’s decision to deliver an address to the Muslim world from Cairo will bolster Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime, says a leading reformer, at a time when it is trying to close the political space it was forced to concede during the short-lived Arab spring of 2005.
The government’s media supporters were “practically ululating” at the [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Democracy assistance, Egypt, Human rights, Islam/politics, Labour/labor unions, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, dissidents, promoting democracy | Tagged Arab spring, civil society, Democracy assistance, democracy promotion, Egypt, GONGOs, Human rights, muslim brotherhood, National Democratic Party, obama administration, World Movement for Democracy |
By Michael Allen on April 24, 2009
Egypt’s first independent union was launched this week in a potentially significant move for the country’s labor movement and for freedom of association under an increasingly authoritarian regime. The Solidarity Center reports that the 27,000-member Real Estate Tax Authority Union was formed when workers voted to form a union following a national strike and a [read full story]
Posted in Egypt, Labour/labor unions, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, dictatorships | Tagged Egypt, Freedom House, freedom of association, Labour/labor unions, National Endowment for Democracy |
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