POMED Notes: The Unfinished February 14 Uprising: What Next for Bahrain?
On Thursday, Project on Middle East Democracy, in coordination with the National Security Network and the Foreign Policy Initiative, held a panel event titled The Unfinished February 14 Uprising: What Next for Bahrain? The event began with opening remarks from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) then moved onto a panel discussion. Panelists included Joost Hiltermann, deputy program director at the International Crisis Group, Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies ...
February 9, 2012
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Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Human Rights, Military, NGOs, Protests, Reform, Saudi Arabia, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: The Arab Spring: The Challenge for Business in N. Africa and the Middle East
On Tuesday, The National Press Club hosted a discussion featuring Chief Executive Officer of Control Risks Richard Fenning, highlighting how the civil unrest of the Arab Spring has affected the way people do business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Kimberly Mikec moderated the event. For full event notes, continue reading below. Or, click here for the PDF Fenning began his talk by citing the emerging geopolitical struggle, making comparisons ...
Members of Congress Request NGOs’ Access to Bahrain
Eleven members of Congress co-signed a bipartisan letter to the King of Bahrain, Shaikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, requesting Bahrain "reconsider the recent travel bans on non-governmental organizations (NGOs)" and "immediately reverse its position and allow NGOs to enter Bahrain ...
NGO Calls Parliament Candidate for Kuwait Reform
The Kuwait Transparency Society called candidates for the parliament elections, held on February 2, to sign an "Electoral Program for the Reform of Kuwait." The signatories of the program submitted (in Arabic) by the NGO would commit to few political reforms, such as, preparing ...
Egypt Celebrates First Anniversary of January 25 Revolution
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and in cities across Egypt today to commemorate the first anniversary of the uprising which overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak. Activists began to fill Tahrir as early as ...
January 25, 2012
Category: Civil Society, Egypt, Featured, Human Rights, Islamist movements, Media, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Protests
Saudi Women to Exclusively Work in Lingerie Shops
Thomas Lippman, reporting for the New York Times, said, "Saudi women shatter the lingerie ceiling." The Ministry of Labor enforced a Saudi royal decree, issued last summer, mandating sales personnel in women's apparel and cosmetic shops to be female. Saudi Labour Minister, Adel Faqih, declared, "this is an order from the King ... All preparations are under way to fully implement this decision." The Ministry of Labor reported that more than 28,000 women ...
Iraq Heads Towards Civil Strife
In less than a month after U.S. troops exited the country Iraq's government appears in turmoil. Barham Salih, Prime Minister of the autonomous northern Kurdish region, said the internal conflicts are "tearing the country apart," with the new motto being, "I'll have him for lunch before they have me for dinner." Over the past several months, the security services, under Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, have incarcerated more than 1,000 members ...
January 23, 2012
Category: Civil Society, Freedom, Government, Human Rights, Iraq, Journalism, Kurdish Region, Military, Political Parties, Political transition
Deputy Secretary of State Burns Arrives in Egypt
The U.S. State Department announced that Deputy Secretary of State William Burns arrived in Cairo Tuesday for meetings with Egyptian officials, politicians, businesspeople, and civil society leaders. Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the State Department, said the discussions "will ...
Egypt: US Condemns Raid of Democracy NGOs’ Offices
The offices of a number of NGOs which promote democracy and human rights in Egypt - including several domestic groups and the American organizations Freedom House, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute - were raided yesterday ...
Islamist Gains in Egypt’s Elections While Women Protest
In a paper entitled Salafis and Sufis in Egypt, which was released by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Jonathon Brown reviews Egypt's latest election and the gains made by a number of Islamist parties- particularly the Muslim Brotherhood ...
December 22, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Government, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political Parties, Political transition, Protests
POMED Notes: Confronting Damascus: U.S. Policy toward the Evolving Situation in Syria
On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia chaired by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) held a hearing on the U.S. Government’s policies towards the ever-changing situation in Syria and what kind of policy stances the White House should take in appropriately dealing with Syria. Fredric C. Hof, Special Coordinator for Regional Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace ...
December 19, 2011
Category: Arab League, Civil Society, Civil War, Corruption, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Government, Human Rights, Political transition, Protests, Reform, sanctions, Syria, US foreign policy
November 28, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Elections 2012, Featured, Government, Hamas, Israel, Palestine, Political Parties, Political transition
BICI Report Released, King Pledges Reform
Today, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) released its 489-page report "investigating and reporting on the events that took place in Bahrain from February 2011, and the consequences of those events." The BICI was formed on July ...
November 23, 2011
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Featured, Freedom, Government, Human Rights, International Law, Iran, Justice, Protests, Rule of Law
November 22, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Elections, Government, Islam and Democracy, Political transition, Protests, Tunisia
SNC Releases Political Program
After officially announcing its creation on October 2nd, the Syrian National Council (SNC) has released its political program. The program states "the goal of the SNC is to build a democratic, pluralistic, and civil state," and outlines the means and goals for the transitional period and "new Syria." A few of the objectives the SNC wants to pursue in establishing a democratic state include "Breaking down the existing regime, including ...
Egypt: New CRS Report on Transition, Mass Protests Against SCAF
The Congressional Research Service has released a new report about Egypt entitled, Egypt in Transition. The report gives a brief overview of Egypt's revolution and the results of the transition that led to a military run transitional government called ...
November 18, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Egypt, Featured, Government, Political Parties, Political transition, Protests
Iran Must “Stop Misrepresenting Human Rights Record”
According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, "Iranian authorities should stop misrepresenting their human rights record in order to deflect international criticism and justify widely reported illegal detentions." The statement came after Mohammad Javad Larijani, a top ...
Analysis: Egyptian Elections First Step in Transition
Rabab El Mahdi in Foreign Policy Magazine argued that while elections are necessary, and conditions surrounding them are bleak, elections are only part of the political process unfolding in Egypt. Many analysts and Egyptians have complaints about the elections, ...
November 16, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Government, Islam and Democracy, Political transition, Public Opinion, Reform, Rule of Law