"The stupidest transition in history" is how my colleague Nathan Brown recently described the last fifteen months in Egypt. Few would disagree. At virtually every step, it seems that almost...
What should you be reading about the politics of todays Middle East, beyond (of course) the outstanding daily content on the Middle East Channel and the news and analysis featured in the MEC Daily Br...
The sudden, unprecedented resignation by Jordans Prime Minister Awn Khasawnah last week threw a sudden spotlight on the ongoing shortcomings of political reform in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Th...
I was invited to testify before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia to be a witness at the April 25, 2012 hearing "Confronting Damascus: U.S. Po...
Nine days ago, the courageous Bahraini activist Alaa Shehabi wrote for Foreign Policy about the then sixty-four day hunger strike by Abd al-Hadi al-Khawaja. His death, she warned, "could mark a ...
The United Nations should establish an investigation commission to collect evidence about war crimes in Syria to prepare the ground for any future investigation, leading Arab international law expert...
Few diplomatic initiatives have faced more skepticism than Kofi Annans plan for Syria, and for good reason. Annans six point plan may have been the only game in town, but its limited mandate reflecte...
Few international institutions have been more congenitally irrelevant than the League of Arab States. Its problems are structural: a Charter rooted in the protection of state sovereignty, an autocrat...
On December 15, 2011, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced the formal end of Americas military presence in Iraq. The withdrawal came after the inability to reach agreement on a revised St...
The Muslim Brotherhood resolved months of speculation this weekend by announcing its intention of nominating Deputy Supreme Guide Khairet al-Shater for Egypts presidential election. It may not seem s...
I am delighted to announce the official publication of my book The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East (PublicAffairs). The seeds of the book can be found in my very fir...
Exactly one year ago, I was in Doha to speak at the Al Jazeera Forum, where a remarkable group of Arab politicians, intellectuals and activists had assembled to talk about the seemingly unstoppable m...
Last week, CNAS released my report "Pressure Not War," which attempted to lay out a path forward on Syria which could accelerate a political transition without a military intervention. Its...
Ive been in Doha for the week, and so havent been able to blog or produce a video blog. But since Ive got wireless access for the moment, I wanted to draw attention to a few things of note which have...
How should the United States, and the international community, respond to the escalating bloodbath in Syria? Over the last two months, the overwhelming weight of editorial and op-ed commentary has ...
Over the last few days there has been a cascade of politicians and analysts jumping on the bandwagon of arming the Free Syrian Army, from John McCain and Elliott Abrams to FPs Daniel Drezner. Its eas...
The veto cast by Russia and China on Saturday blocked action by the United Nations Security Council to back the Arab Leagues initiative to stop the killing and facilitate a political transition in Sy...
"Do not let the Syrian people down; the violence must end," implored Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi at the Security Council yesterday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...
The formal seating of Egypts Parliament today, after a grueling two months of elections and political turmoil, marks the end of one stage of Egypts transition. The Islamist-dominated Parliament will ...
Select Newsletter Template: Afpak Daily Brief Event Notice: Please join the New America Foundations National Security Studies Program TOMORROW from 12:15 - 1:45 pm as we commemorate the life of...
The U.S. Embassy in Damascus is reportedly planning to shut down if the Syrian government can not -- or will not -- provide adequate security guarantees. If the safety of Embassy personnel is...
It is time to think seriously about intervening militarily in Syria, argues Steven Cook today. He joins a small but growing chorus pushing for such a move. Some parts of the Syrian opposition have mo...
The last American troops officially left Iraq before Christmas, mostly completing an American withdrawal by the end of 2011 which few thought possible when then-candidate Barack Obama promised it or ...
Photos: Alexey Navalny Boris Nemtsov Yevgenia Chirikova Lyudmila Alexeeva Date: 01/10/2012 Short Dek: Portraits of Russia's would-be revolutionaries -- and their intimate thoug...
Its time for the official, Aardvark-certified list of the Best Books on the Middle East for 2011! (See last years winners here.) Next years list will undoubtedly be dominated by books addressing this...
Marc Lynch The call to accelerate the transition to civilian rule in Egypt has taken on a new urgency this week. A wide range of political forces are calling for the SCAF to cede power to an ...
Marc Lynch A demonstration outside the Cabinet building in central Cairo turned violent last night when soldiers attacked a sit-in which had been established three weeks ago. Protestors were pelted...
Marc Lynch At a talk in Kuwait this week, I mentioned in passing that the leading Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Arab politics isnt likely to last and the Arab spring will certainly come to the Gu...
"I think the Muslim Brotherhood [in Egypt] should govern by coalition that includes the people from secular parties and the Copts." That was the advice which Rached Ghannouchi, President of...
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