MidEast Brief

[T]he Palestinian Islamists, no longer relegated to the margins of the Palestinian UN initiative by the rival leadership in Ramallah, can now resume reconciliation talks from a position of relative equality. Whether reconciliation and the incipient internationalization of the Palestine question will be fused to form the basis of a new national strategy remains very much an open question.

Egypt's Bloody Sunday

Mariz Tadros

MERIP Online - October, 2011

The demonization of the Maspero protesters is partly in keeping with standard operating procedure for the Egyptian state in dealing with political dissidents, whether they are Copts, workers or youth activists. The state always presents itself as protecting a silent majority from an unruly few. When the dissidents are Christian, however, the demonization is served up with a twist: Copts are implicitly or explicitly depicted as lacking patriotism, even as traitors.

A Guide to Tunisia's Election

Project on Middle East Democracy

POMED - October, 2011

These elections will not only be critical for the future prospects of democracy in Tunisia, but will have implications for the entire Middle East and North Africa. If successful, they will help dispel claims of Arab exceptionalism to democracy, and could set an example for the rest of the region. On the other hand, if problems stemming from these elections were to derail Tunisia's democratic transition, that could be a considerable setback for democracy across the Arab world.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed

Mouin Rabbani

Foreign Policy - September, 2011

Put differently, fragmentation is a symptom of Palestinian dispossession, and Miller surely knows better than to promote it as its cause and suggest that resolving it is a prerequisite to sovereignty.

Palestinians Declare Independence from U.S.

Henry Siegman

The National Interest - September, 2011

The American insistence on aborting the Palestinians' initiative and returning them to a peace process in which their fate remains dependent on Israel is shameful. It stains America's honor. It will not succeed, for the Palestinian decision to defy the American demand is itself a declaration of independence; that genie cannot be returned to the bottle.

A Formal Funeral for the Two-State Solution

Ali Abunimah

Foreign Affairs - September, 2011

[I]n two crucial respects, the ill-conceived gambit actually makes things worse, amplifying the flaws of the process it seeks to replace. First, it excludes the Palestinian people from the decision-making process. And second, it entirely disconnects the discourse about statehood from reality.

Egypt's fragmenting revolution

Steve Negus

The Guardian - September, 2011

An uprising like Tahrir is an emotional state, not an institution - it has no means of resolving internal disagreements, and when the initial sense of euphoria and unity wears off, it must eventually yield to a more formal body with a more formal decision-making process.

Egypt's Israel Problem

Yasmine El Rashidi

New York Review of Books - September, 2011

Government sources have since told me that the SCAF and the interim cabinet are being "forced to seriously consider" public demands to reset its Israel policies and that "discussions are taking place." Troop allowances in the Sinai are likely to be where the interim government presses for change, as well as re-examining the controversial gas deal.

Syria's Assad on the Ropes?

Patrick Seale

The Nation - August, 2011

The opposition faces a stark choice: either go all out to bring the regime down, as some would like, or cooperate with it in building a new and better Syria. The first course is hazardous: if the Baathist state is torn down, what will replace it? The second course requires an act of faith: it means accepting that Assad truly wants to implement radical reforms and effect a transition to democracy by means of a national dialogue. He has attempted to launch such a dialogue, but has so far failed to convince—largely because the killing has continued. In August, for example, he signed a bill introducing a multiparty system, but no such reform can be implemented while the violence persists.

Of "Instructors" and Interests in Iraq

Reidar Visser

MERIP Middle East Report - August, 2011

Can Tahrir Square Come to Tel Aviv?

Daniel Levy

The Nation - August, 2011

Power Struggle in Iran Pits President Against Supreme Leader

Afrooz Mahdavi

The Nation - August, 2011

Dissent in Syria Emerges as Front Line of Arab Uprisings

Anthony Shadid

New York Times - August, 2011