The problem with promoting democracy
In a better world, I’d be enthusiastically in favor of democracy promotion and even nation-building -- more correctly called state-building. But we don’t live in a better world....
Mohamed Morsi
The Egyptian riddle
With presidential elections coming up on March 26, Egypt’s capital is festooned with campaign billboards and posters. That’s an encouraging sight in the Middle East, and yet I sense t...
Op-eds
A pope and a grand imam
Pope Tawadros II had planned to spend last week on retreat in a monastery near Alexandria. But then Mohammed bin Salman, on a three-day visit to Egypt, asked to see him. The Saudi Crown...
Op-eds
Qatar vs. Saudi Arabia: How Iran and the Brotherhood Tore the Gulf Apart
The Gulf monarchies face the most serious crisis in their history. It is largely being covered as a diplomatic spat, since several Arab nations terminated their relations with Qatar on Monday to...
Op-eds
‘Principled Realism’
Donald Trump's recent sojourn in the Middle East leaves the United States where it was before the president departed: His administration remains committed to containing Iran while...
Op-eds
Qatar Needs to Do Its Part
An important goal of President Donald Trump’s meetings with Arab and Islamic leaders this past weekend was to encourage them to shoulder more of the burden in defending our common interests...
Op-eds
Russia’s Charm Offensive in North Africa
With the world’s attention focused on the question of Russian influence in the United States and the European Union, the Kremlin is quietly making inroads in anot...
Op-eds
Mubarak Freed, Egypt Shrugs
Hosni Mubarak was freed Friday from a military hospital in the Cairo suburb of Maadi, six years after mas...
Policy Briefs
Egypt Picks Sides in the Syrian War
On February 1, a military transport plane left a Russian airbase in Latakia, Syria, landed at an airfield...
Op-eds
The Truth About Egypt’s Revolution
The usual account of Egypt’s revolution goes like this: In February 2011, Hosni Mubarak resigned after 18 days...
Op-eds
By blocking UN vote, Egypt sticks finger in Turkey’s eye
Egypt blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution this past Saturday that...
Op-eds
Hamas and Egypt Make Amends?
A steady stream of reports in recent weeks has suggested that Egypt is burying the hatchet with Hamas. The Washington Post saw an “...
Op-eds
Egypt hands strategic Red Sea islands to Saudis, and Israel doesn’t object
Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement Saturday for Cairo to return control of two uninhabited but strategic Red Sea islands to the kingdom. The islands — Tiran and Sanafir — lie...
Op-eds
Containing ISIS, keeping Assad weak
Israel should favor a Kurdish state and Druse autonomy in Syria; must prevent Islamic State from securing a presence on its border; has the tools to deter Hezbollah; and would like to see Preside...
Op-eds
Al-Jazeera Files $150M Claim Against Egypt for Harassment of Journalists
The Al-Jazeera news network has filed a $150M arbitration claim against the government of Egypt, making good on a three-year-old threat to seek redress for what it describes as the persecution of...
Op-eds
Ankara’s Failure
Makalenin Türkçe çevirisini buradan okuyabilirsiniz. When ...
Op-eds
Dissent likely to be muted on Egyptian revolution’s fifth anniversary
Monday is the fifth anniversary of Egypt's Jan. 25 revolution, but you'd be forgiven for not noticing. The government is waging the ...
Op-eds
Trading Peace in Egypt and Israel
This year marks the tenth anniversary of an Egyptian-Israeli economic partnership that has quietly pumped billions into Cairo’s vulnerable economy. The free-trade framework known as Qualify...
Op-eds
Top Prosecutor’s Death Presages Long, Hot Summer in Egypt
Egypt’s top public prosecutor was killed Monday in a car...
Policy Briefs
Admitting Syrian Refugees: The Intelligence Void and the Escalating Homeland Security Threat
Download full testimony here ...