Podcasts about middle east democracy

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with analyst Seth Binder about the technicalities of U.S. aid to Israel. They discuss the ways in which U.S. aid to Israel works differently from U.S. aid to other countries, the legal requirements & questions surrounding U.S. aid to Israeli military units that commit human rights abuses, and the question of whether, and in what ways, the debate over conditioning aid to Israel is changing.  Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. Seth Binder is Director of Advocacy at the Middle East Democracy Center, a merger between POMED (Project on Middle East Democracy) & The Freedom Initiative. He is an expert in arms sales, authoritarianism, human rights, national security, security assistance and U.S. foreign aid and foreign policy. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been the President of Egypt since 2014. Egypt perennially struggles economically and politically, with high inflation, widespread youth unemployment and military dictatorship. In fact, Egypt has been under military dictatorship for nearly seventy uninterrupted years- nearly, because after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, democratically elected Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, came to power. But he was soon deposed in a military coup in 2013. The man who took his place was Sisi, today's subject.But as you're about to hear, Sisi's Egypt is far from stable, his continued leadership far from assured. He walks a constant tightrope, lurching from one crisis to another, painfully aware that among his three immediate predecessors as President, one was assassinated, another forced to resign, and the third imprisoned, later dying behind bars. My guest today is Amy Hawthorne. Amy is a Middle East specialist who has formally worked with the US State Department, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Project in Middle East Democracy. As well as Sisi's leadership style and background, we discuss the 2011 Revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's dire economic situation, and Egypt's perspective on the War in Gaza.

America and the Kais Saied coup Number 5 in our new Top Ten is our 11 March 2022 podcast with Amy Hawthorne. At the time Amy was the Deputy Director of Research at POMED, the Project on Middle East Democracy in Washington, DC. She is a Middle East expert with many years of experience working on Arab politics and US Middle East policy in the NGO sector and think tanks and in the State Department during the Obama administration. Sign up NOW at ArabDigest.org for free to join the club and start receiving our daily newsletter & weekly podcasts.

Dr. Sharan Grewal is an Assistant Professor of Government at the College of William & Mary, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy.  In episode 28 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed his book, "Soldiers of Democracy? Military Legacies and the Arab Spring." Analyzing the conduct of the Egyptian and Tunisian militaries within the context of the Arab Spring, Grewal presents the compelling argument that the manner in which militaries are treated during periods of autocracy plays a pivotal role in shaping their behavior under democratic systems. This perspective not only provides insight into the distinct responses exhibited by these militaries in the face of the uprisings but also sheds light on their divergent reactions to the subsequent waves of political turbulence that ensued. Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ccHcjy0epeo Grewal's book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/soldiers-of-democracy-9780198873518 Streaming everywhere! https://linktr.ee/TahrirPodcast   Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com              Support us on Patreon for as low as $2 per month ($20 per year)! https://www.patreon.com/TahrirPodcast  (Use VPN if in Egypt)

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's all-powerful leader of 20 years, was recently re-elected, raising serious questions about the state of Turkey's democracy. Is Erdoğan trying to rebuild the Ottoman Empire? And is his republic Russia's Trojan Horse in NATO? Ray Suarez speaks with Merve Tahiroğlu, Turkey Program Director at the Project on Middle East Democracy about Erdoğan's imperial ambitions.   Guest:   Merve Tahiroğlu, Turkey Program Director at the Project on Middle East Democracy   Host:   Ray Suarez   If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Turkey's President Erdogan has finally made it official, setting May 14 as the date for elections that many see as existential for Turkey's authoritarian leader. After twenty years of dominating Turkish politics, and given the stakes for Erdogan, there are questions as to how far he will be willing to go on May 14th to ensure the results are in his favor, and whether there will be a peaceful transition of power. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program director at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins me to look at whether the upcoming elections in Turkey will be free and fair, look at what role the international community and civil society can play to ensure the integrity of the elections, and explore whether Erdogan will be willing to hand over power should he lose.Watch the FDD's panel discussion featuring Merve Tahiroglu where these issues were explored: Turkey After ErdoganYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:Erdogan calls Turkish elections for May 14, three months after quake disasterCypriot president pledges 2% of GDP on defense spendingBritish Museum chair: Worth trying to find solution for Parthenon SculpturesBoris Johnson and the Parthenon Marbles

After twenty years of dominating Turkish politics, Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces an electoral challenge to his hold on power. Turkish law requires Erdogan to hold presidential and parliamentary elections no later than June of this year. Until recently, polls put Erdogan slightly behind his potential challengers. Economic conditions are dire. Complicating matters further, devastating earthquakes last month killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, resulting in public outrage over the government's politicized response that prioritized limiting the damage to Erdogan's reputation rather than saving lives.FDD's panel discussion explores these issues with Sinan Ciddi as well as Henri Barkey, Cohen professor in international relations at Lehigh University and adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Merve Tahiroglu, Turkey Program director at the Project on Middle East Democracy, with Nate Schenkkan, senior director of research for Freedom House's work on countering authoritarianism, moderating.

Host Johnny Punish welcomes VT Senior Editor Dr. Kevin Barrett to talk about Morroco, World Cup, The Middle East, and Democracy. Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist is one of America's best-known critics of the War on Terror.He is the host of TRUTH JIHAD RADIO; a hard-driving weekly radio show funded by listener subscriptions at Substack and the weekly news roundup FALSE FLAG WEEKLY NEWS (FFWN).He also has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS, and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications.Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin; where he ran for Congress in 2008. He currently works as a nonprofit organizer, author, and talk radio host.Support Dr. Barrett via his https://kevinbarrett.substack.comSupport the show Visit VT for more Uncenosred Alternative Foreign Policy Media

President Joe Biden has made several big moves in his foreign policy toward the Middle East so far - among them a planned trip to meet with Saudi Arabia's controversial leader Mohammad bin Salman, a willingness to allow the Iran nuclear talks to lie fallow, and a cut to military aid to Egypt. This happens as several regional states want the United States to remain committed to the region and even to increase military presence there. How is everything going, and how does this fit into broader trends in U.S. grand strategy and Middle Eastern politics? Our guest Sean Yom is Associate Professor of Political Science at Temple University and Senior Fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy in Washington, DC. He is a specialist on regimes and governance in the Middle East, especially in Arab monarchies like Jordan, Kuwait, and Morocco. His research engages topics of authoritarian politics, democratic reforms, institutional stability, and economic development in these countries, as well as their implications for US foreign policy. His publications include the books From Resilience to Revolution: How Foreign Interventions Destabilize the Middle East (Columbia University Press, 2016), as well as The Political Science of the Middle East: Theory and Research since the Arab Uprisings (Oxford University Press, 2022); articles in print journals like Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of International Relations, Studies in Comparative International Development, and Journal of Democracy; and contributions in online venues like Foreign Affairs, Middle East Eye, and the Washington Post's Monkey Cage. He also advises country-level work with international NGOs, law firms, and sovereign clients. Education: A.B., Brown University (2003); PhD., Harvard University (2009).

On the week that Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating 70 years on the throne, The New Arab Voice is looking at monarchies in the Middle East and North Africa. Of the ten surviving ruling monarchies that exist around the world, eight of them can be found in the Middle East and North Africa. While some have the vestiges of democratic institutions, they all have a monarch at the top who wields immense power and influence. On this week's episode, we examine the characteristics of an Arab monarchy, what strategies do they employ to justify and continue their rule, how have they remained in power for so long, and what does the future hold for them?We speak with Sean Yom (@YomSean), associate professor in political science at Temple University in Philadelphia and a senior fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy in Washington.And then, we go back to Calais with Lyse Mauvais (@lyse_mauvais) for the second part of her special report from the French coast. This week, Lyse speaks with the people behind the Calais Border Broadcast (CBB).The CBB is a community radio station, run by and for migrants living in northern France. It provides advice and comfort to those who are hoping to secure safety and stability. This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge (@hugogoodridge). Theme music by Omar al-Fil (@elepheel). Other music by Blue Dot Sessions.To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email hugo.goodridge@alaraby.co.uk

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Western policymakers have watched Erdogan's balancing act between Turkey's NATO allies and Russia closely, seeing the war as an opportunity to pull Ankara back into the Western fold. As a result, several NATO countries have helped boost Erdogan's image in recent weeks with diplomatic visits and new offers of previously off-limits arms deals. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey program coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins Thanos Davelis today to argue that instead of focusing solely on Erdogan's balancing act, Western policymakers should be paying attention to the attitudes of ordinary Turks to the war. Read Merve Tahiroglu's latest analysis for POMED here: Why Turkish Citizens Blame the United States for Ukraine WarYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:Biden Administration Asks Congress to Approve New Weapons Deal With TurkeyEU tensions grow over Russian oil ban as Hungary demands exemptionHungary says its backing of EU's Russia oil ban hinges on hundreds of millions of dollarsGreece bans LGBTQ conversion therapy

This week a Turkish court condemned Turkish philanthropist and civic leader Osman Kavala to life in prison, a verdict that's been described as a “travesty of justice.” The State Department also chimed in, expressing its deep concern. Its statement only mentioned Osman Kavala, however, failing to call out Turkey for upending the lives of the other defendants, including Professor Henri Barkey, a US citizen and former State Department employee. Merve Tahiroglu and Henri Barkey join our host Thanos Davelis to discuss this verdict, the US response, and its potential impact on Turkey's relations with the West.Merve Tahiroglu is the Turkey program coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy.Henri Barkey is the Cohen Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University and an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.Read Henri Barkey's op-ed in The Atlantic on this case: Erdoğan's War on TruthRead POMED's Joint Statement on the verdict: Turkey's Gezi Trial Verdict a Travesty of JusticeYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:US State Department on Turkey's conviction of Osman KavalaGreece to pay Gazprom end-May, help Bulgaria after Russia cuts gas supplyGreece files demarche over Turkish F-16 violations

In seven episodes, the Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East podcast miniseries will take a closer look at two decades of heightened U.S. engagement in the region. Over seven weeks, Babel will cover how the United States has used its military, economic, diplomatic, and soft power tools in the Middle East—and how the Middle East has responded.   In part three, Jon looks at how the United States has used its economic toolkit in the region, and how successful sanctions and development aid have been in advancing U.S. interests in the Middle East. He speaks with Howard Schatz, a senior economist at RAND who served on the Bush administration's Council of Economic Advisors in 2007; Amy Hawthorne, the deputy director for research for the Project on Middle East Democracy who served as a senior advisor for Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department during the Arab Spring; and Ali Vaez, the International Crisis Group's Iran project director.   Howard Shatz. "The Power and Limits of Threat: The Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act at One Year,” Real Clear Defense. July 7, 2021.   Amy Hawthorne, "Egypt: Trends in Politics, Economics, and Human Rights," Before The House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism, 116th Congress, 2020. Ali Vaez and Naysan Rafati, “U.S. Maximum Pressure Meets Iranian Maximum Pressure,” International Crisis Group, November 5, 2019.  Transcript, "U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Three," CSIS, March 15, 2022.

Turkey's Western allies have often sidelined democratic values when dealing with Turkey's President Erdogan. As the war rages in Ukraine and Turkey maintains its balancing act between the West and Russia, there are questions that the West is once again sidelining human rights and democratic values as it looks to engage with Turkey on Ukraine. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins our host Thanos Davelis to look at whether Putin's invasion of Ukraine is prompting the West to cozy up to Erdogan, and whether this means that Turkey is getting a free pass on human rights and democratic backsliding. We also discuss the recent POMED policy brief that outlines why democratic values must play a central role - along with geopolitics - as Western governments formulate their Turkey policies.Read POMED's policy brief here: Supporting Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey: Can the United States and Europe Do More?You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:White House readout of call between President Biden and President ErdoganThe Secretary General underlines the importance of Turkey's contributions to NATOSenate confirms George J. Tsunis as next Greece ambassador

Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by the Project on Middle East Democracy's Amy Hawthorne. And their focus is Tunisia. While the world's attention is riveted on Ukraine and Putin's war, Kais Saied, the Tunisian president is quietly putting the finishing touches to a new dictatorship in North Africa. So what is the Biden administration, which claims to put democracy at the heart of its foreign policy, doing about it? Sign up NOW at ArabDigest.org for free to join the club and start receiving our daily newsletter & podcasts.

Jill Jarvis of Yale University joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss her new book, Decolonizing Memory: Algeria and Politics of Testimony. In the book, Jarvis analyzes the magnitude of the legal violence exercised by the French to colonize and occupy Algeria. Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl of Leiden University and Kevin Koehler of Leiden University discuss their latest article, "Governing the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa: Containment Measures as a Public Good" published in Middle East Law and Governance. Sean Yom of Temple University and Wael Al-Khatib of the Arab Political Science Network discuss the prospects for democratic reform in Jordan. You can read their report from the Project on Middle East Democracy here. Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

On this year-end edition of Press Conference USA, VOA's Rick Pantaleo brings you excerpts from conversations with some of our most distinguished guests, including former director of the CIA, and Retired U.S. Army General, David Petraeus; Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu of California; Republican Congressman John Curtis of Utah; Amy Hawthorne, Deputy Director for Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy on Tunisia and more.

On 25 July 2021 Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed the government and suspended parliament, subsequently employing the army and security forces around government buildings to thwart any opposition to his power grab. How did Tunisia – long hailed as a democratic model in the region – reach such a stage? Who is President Saied and what does he plan on doing? What are his sources of power and support, both within Tunisia and internationally? And does his power grab mean the end of Tunisian democracy? This panel will tackle these questions and more. Youssef Cherif runs the Columbia Global Centers | Tunis, the North and West African research centre of Columbia University. He is a Tunis-based political analyst, member of Carnegie's Civic Activism Network, and a regular contributor to number of think-tanks (Carnegie, ISPI, IAI, IEMed, etc.). He consulted previously for IWPR, IACE, the United Nations, The Carter Center, and the Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies (ITES). He comments on North African affairs for several media outlets, including Al Jazeera, BBC, DW, France 24, among others. He holds a Chevening Master of Arts in International Relations from the Dept. of War Studies of King's College London, and a Fulbright Master of Arts in Classical Studies from Columbia University. Youssef is the editor of the book The Modern Arab State: A Decade of Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2021. Dr Anne Wolf is a Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford, where she teaches Authoritarian Politics. She holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford (St Antony's College) and an MPhil in Politics and International Relations from the University of Cambridge (Clare College), where she was previously the Margaret Smith Research Fellow in Politics and International Relations (Girton College). Her 2017 book Political Islam in Tunisia: The History of Ennahda, published by Oxford University Press, won the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title. Her second book, Ben Ali's Tunisia: Power and Contention in an Authoritarian Regime is forthcoming with OUP. Wolf has published numerous journal articles on Authoritarian Politics in the Arab world. She is an Associate Editor at the Journal of North African Studies and a Senior Research Fellow at the Project of Middle East Democracy.

In the wake of elections in Qatar and Iraq, Kais Saied's increasingly autocratic moves in Tunisia and Joe Biden's apparent indifference to human rights abuses, Arab Digest editor William Law is in conversation with Amy Hawthorne deputy director of research at the Washington-based Project on Middle East Democracy. Sign up NOW at Arabdigest.org for free to join the club and start receiving our daily newsletter & podcasts.

Last month the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers agreed to initiate the infringement process against Turkey in December unless it complies with a European Court of Human Rights ruling and releases political prisoner Osman Kavala. Kavala has been unjustly jailed for almost four years. The Council of Europe's warning also urged Ankara to comply with another recent ECHR ruling to immediately free Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtaş, the leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who has been imprisoned since 2016. Merve Tahiroglu joins The Greek Current to discuss this latest warning from the Council of Europe, and explore what's at stake should Turkey fail to comply with the European Court of Human Rights. Merve Tahiroglu is the Turkey Coordinator at POMED - the Project on Middle East Democracy.Read Merve Tahiroglu's latest op-ed for POMED here: Turkey in Trouble at the Council of EuropeYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: Mitsotakis urges EU to clarify accession prospects of Western Balkan countriesDoubt lingers in Balkans after years of broken EU promisesTurkish harassment of ship in Cyprus EEZ discussed with Borrell

Democratic and Republican senators voiced heavy criticism of Ankara on Wednesday during a hearing on US policy toward Turkey in which Victoria Nuland, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, testified. Key Senators called out Ankara for backsliding on human rights, undermining NATO, being an “aggressor” toward Greece and Cyprus, and much more. They also demanded more action from the Biden administration to hold Turkey accountable. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins The Greek Current to break down the important takeaways from Wednesday's hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.You can watch the hearing here: U.S. Policy on TurkeyYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: US senator says Turkish actions against pro-Kurdish party like ‘if Biden banned the Republican Party'Possible health system gaps fuel concernGreece: Tear gas fired during protest of vaccine mandateCyprus wants strong UNSC response on Varosha 

Turkey's Constitutional Court on Monday accepted an indictment filed by a top prosecutor seeking a ban on the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) for alleged ties to the outlawed PKK, paving the way for a case to shut down Turkey's third-largest party. The HDP denies formal links to PKK, and says any attack by Erdogan's ruling party and its far-right nationalist allies is retribution for its opposition to the government. The HDP has come under increased pressure in recent months, with Erdogan's nationalist allies calling for it to be banned. This move by Ankara comes just one week after President Biden met with President Erdogan at the NATO summit.Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at POMED - the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins The Greek Current to discuss this latest development.You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: Turkish court accepts indictment seeking ban of pro-Kurdish partyTurkey: Woman killed in attack on pro-Kurdish party officeEgypt, Greece expand cooperation, agree on regional security issuesMitsotakis, Sisi discuss Cyprus during Cairo meetingNo concessions to Erdogan, says US Sen. Bob Menendez

Even if Turkey manages to come up with a solution to the S400 issue or the eastern Mediterranean issue during the NATO meeting on June 14 between U.S President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, there is not going to be a new page within the U.S. Turkish relationship without real democracy and reforms, Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, told Ahval's editor-in-chief in Ahval on Saturday. Tahiroglu said that Ankara really wants an image out of this meeting on Monday of positive U.S-Turkish relations.

Even if Turkey manages to come up with a solution to the S400 issue or the eastern Mediterranean issue during the NATO meeting on June 14 between U.S President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, there is not going to be a new page within the U.S. Turkish relationship without real democracy and reforms, Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, told Ahval's editor-in-chief in Ahval on Saturday. Tahiroglu said that Ankara really wants an image out of this meeting on Monday of positive U.S-Turkish relations.

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon speaks with Nadwa Al Dawsari, a conflict and policy analyst, and a specialist in Yemeni tribes with over 18 years of field experience in conflict management and civil society development in Yemen. Nadwa has published a huge amount of material on Yemen and her work has been published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Atlantic Council, Middle East Institute, Oxfam, Lawfare, Project on Middle East Democracy, the Washington Post, and the Center for Civilians in Conflict, among others. She can be found on twitter @NDawsari. On this episode, Simon and Nadwa speak about Yemeni politics, the fragmentation of the state, the challenges of peace building and much more. Please do like, share and subscribe in all the usual ways. We even have a jingle now (thanks Eddie) so we’re contractually obliged to ask you to do this. Until next time!

Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey program coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins us to talk about her latest piece in Brookings' TechStream blog about the social media app Clubhouse, its role in the recent student protests at Istanbul's Bogazici University, it's broader impact on Turkey's political scene, and its transformation from a safe space for critics into another digital battleground for Erdogan's information wars. We also look at Turkey's broader crackdown on social media, and whether companies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube can ultimately ensure users a safe space for public debate in Turkey.Read Merve Tahiroglu's piece in Brookings' TechStream blog: On Turkish Clubhouse, a brief experiment in a more open webYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: Greece to reopen schools using self-test kits for COVID-19Greek schools set to reopen using self-test kits for Covid-19Turkey convicts dozens in mass trial over failed 2016 coupTurkey coup: Top officers given life terms in mass trial

In the latest crackdown on Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition party, the HDP, Turkish authorities on Wednesday stripped Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a prominent HDP legislator and human rights advocate, of his parliamentary seat. Meanwhile, a prosecutor filed a case with Turkey's highest court, seeking the HDP's disbandment. The HDP has come under intensified pressure recently, with the far-right nationalist allies of President Erdogan's party calling for it to be banned. The moves against Gergerlioglu and the HDP come weeks after Erdogan pledged a series of human rights reforms.Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins The Greek Current with a breaking analysis.You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:  Top Turkish prosecutor files case to close pro-Kurdish HDPTurkey expels pro-Kurdish legislator, seeks to disband partyCall me? US-Turkey reset faces long list of hurdlesGreece Declares It's Back in Bond Markets After Near-Record SaleGreece sees high demand for 30-year bond, to ease debt costsCovid: EU unveils 'digital green certificate' to allow citizens to travelEU plans rollout of travel certificate before summer

In the latest crackdown on Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition party, the HDP, Turkish authorities on Wednesday stripped Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a prominent HDP legislator and human rights advocate, of his parliamentary seat. Meanwhile, a prosecutor filed a case with Turkey’s highest court, seeking the HDP’s disbandment. The HDP has come under intensified pressure recently, with the far-right nationalist allies of President Erdogan’s party calling for it to be banned. The moves against Gergerlioglu and the HDP come weeks after Erdogan pledged a series of human rights reforms. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins The Greek Current with a breaking analysis. *This podcast was presented by Kathimerini and was published with the permission of the creator.

In the latest crackdown on Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition party, the HDP, Turkish authorities on Wednesday stripped Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a prominent HDP legislator and human rights advocate, of his parliamentary seat.Meanwhile, a prosecutor filed a case with Turkey’s highest court, seeking the HDP’s disbandment. The HDP has come under intensified pressure recently, with the far-right nationalist allies of President Erdogan’s party calling for it to be banned. The moves against Gergerlioglu and the HDP come weeks after Erdogan pledged a series of human rights reforms.Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins The Greek Current with a breaking analysis. *This podcast was presented by Kathimerini and was published with the permission of the creator.

The HDP, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, is facing renewed pressure in Turkey amid rising calls for its closure by nationalist politicians in Ankara. HDP members are being increasingly targeted after the deaths of 13 Turkish hostages in Iraqi Kurdistan earlier this month following a botched rescue operation. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, discusses this latest crackdown on Turkey's third largest political party, and explores what the implications are for Turkish democracy. Read Merve Tahiroglu's article here: Erdoğan Uses Tragic Killings to Criminalize Kurdish Politics, Civil SocietyYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: Turkey's pro-Kurdish party under pressure as calls increase for its closureErdoğan's war on peace: The Gergerlioğlu caseEU mulls vaccination passports to resurrect tourism after COVID-19As more governments mull vaccine passports, critics raise discrimination fearsNinety percent of ICU beds in Attica are fullLockdown extension likely, PM tells cabinet

President Biden's pledge to put democracy and human rights at the center of American foreign policy is facing an early test from an increasingly authoritarian Turkey. In a recent op-ed, expert Merve Tahiroglu, makes the case that the Biden administration has an immediate opportunity to make good on this pledge, not only to advance American interests and human rights, but also to protect U.S. citizens from unjust treatment at the hands of autocrats like President Erdogan. Merve Tahiroglu is the Turkey Program Coordinator at POMED, the Project on Middle East Democracy.Read Merve Tahiroglu's op-ed here: Biden can't let Turkey's Erdoğan get away with his threats to Americans any longerYou can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: Turkey rejects US call to free jailed philanthropist Osman KavalaGreece seeks Gulf allies to counter tension with TurkeyAnkara irked by Athens meeting of Cyprus, Egypt, Gulf officialsTurkey says it will not turn back from Russian S-400sU.S. Urges Turkey to Jettison Russian S-400 Missile System

United States President Joe Biden’s administration has had its first encounter with Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian government only two weeks after taking office. On Monday, Turkish police descended on the campus of the Bogazici University in Istanbul as they tore through encampments erected by students protesting against the appointment of a pro-government rector as the head of its most prestigious university. According to a statement from the Istanbul Governor’s office, 159 students were arrested on that day alone while another 104 were detained on Tuesday. Erdogan himself referenced the event after condemning the students as “terrorists” when he told his party on Thursday that Turkey “ will not again live a Gezi event in Taksim.” While not as large as the 2013 demonstrations, those at Bogazici do bear striking similarities to them, explained Merve Tahiroglu, Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy in Washington DC, in a new podcast with Turkey Abroad.

When uprisings took place throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, it seemed like Egypt would be the big success story. But in the last few months, civil rights activists say it has become a nightmare. In October, the government more than doubled its pace of executions, putting nearly 60 people to death. In November, Egyptian state security arrested three prominent human rights leaders with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, or EIPR. Executive director Gasser Abdel-Razek and colleagues Kareem Ennarah and Mohamed Basheer were held on terrorism charges after they met with Western diplomats.Related: Photo essay: Arab uprisings began with quest for freedom“The EIPR is kind of Egypt’s ACLU or the NAACP,” said Ramy Yaacoub, founder and executive director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy in Washington, DC. “It's that revolutionary and it's that important.”Yaacoub said the arrests hit a raw nerve. It seems like the country is at its lowest point, he said, 10 years after such a hopeful moment during the so-called Arab Spring. A protest movement led by young Egyptians did the unthinkable in February 2011 — deposing military dictator Hosni Mubarak.Related: Egypt social media censorship targets women on TikTok“And I can tell you ... initially there was so much freedom of speech and freedom of expression, assembly, I didn't believe it,” Yaacoub said.  But by April 2011, he remembers thinking that the different revolutionary factions were struggling to work together. “We were successful in creating a political vacuum,” Yaacoub said. “The only people that were around to offer ... a viable option or an alternative were the Muslim Brotherhood and their affiliates. They were prepared and ready.”The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi was elected president. That was something the Egyptian military would not let stand. Yaacoub said by June 2013, he realized the military was going to win the power struggle.  Related: Egypt's Mubarak, ousted by popular revolt in 2011, dies aged 91“I remember writing on Twitter multiple times then, like, ‘Folks, this is no longer our fight. This is completely out of our hands. Other people are going to take over now, unfortunately,’” he said.Morsi was driven out of power by massive protests. Former military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi took over and was elected president in 2014. Then, in a series of new laws and executive orders, Sisi solidified his rule. He restricted due process and the freedom of expression. The military used force to end anti-government demonstrations. Human rights groups say political opponents were detained, tortured and killed. Related: Egyptian artist duo commemorates Tahrir Square revolutionSisi’s government imposed new restrictions on nongovernmental organizations and international charities. Many NGOs were forced to close. “It's been a really steadily escalating campaign of targeting and repression, using lots of different tools, using lots of different laws."Stephen McInerney, executive director, Project on Middle East Democracy“It's been a really steadily escalating campaign of targeting and repression, using lots of different tools, using lots of different laws,” said Stephen McInerney, executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy, a group that had helped train some activists and protest leaders during the uprising. “And of course there are, you know, very difficult circumstances on the ground for anyone who wants to engage politically.”At this point, he said most democracy activists have fled Egypt. Those remaining have gone underground. McInerney’s organization uses encrypted communications to talk to them. Meanwhile, McInerney said, Western countries have done little to support pro-democracy efforts inside Egypt. “We've been disappointed to see other democratic countries overlook democratic values in order to profit by selling weapons,” he said.Like the US and most recently, France. During a visit with Sisi earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron said France would continue to sell weapons to Egypt, despite its human rights record. The Trump administration has made the same decision, allowing military assistance to flow. And Donald Trump even called Sisi his “favorite dictator.”At that meeting in France, Sisi dismissed criticisms about human rights. "You cannot present the state of Egypt, with all that it has done for its people and for stability in the region, with it being a dictatorship,” he said. That message of stability still appeals to many Egyptians, and to leaders in the West, said Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.“European leaders have looked the other way when it comes to human rights violations throughout the region, but particularly in Egypt, because they are concerned about instability in North Africa affecting politics in Europe."Steven Cook, senior fellow, Middle East and Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations“European leaders have looked the other way when it comes to human rights violations throughout the region, but particularly in Egypt, because they are concerned about instability in North Africa affecting politics in Europe,” he said. Sisi has also defended his actions by saying they’re necessary to fight terrorism. “One of the things that the Egyptian foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, has said over and over again is that ‘it's unfair to criticize Egypt because this is human rights as formulated by Egypt's Western critics,’” Cook said. “‘It's really just a form of colonialism.’”But Cook said the recent arrests of prominent human rights activists in Egypt set off an unprecedented international outcry. The UN, the European Union, and members of the EU parliament called for their release. Also, US President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, and celebrities such as Scarlett Johansen.“I think the Egyptians understood after the outcry that they perhaps had gone too far,” Cook said. “But it’s very hard to tell what's going on.”  Earlier this month, the three staffers with the EIPR were abruptly released. But they still face charges. And thousands of other less-famous prisoners remain behind bars. Still, their release gives Ramy Yaacoub of the Tahrir Institute some hope. “Social political change takes time — a long time. And as humans, we want prosperity right now. One hundred years from now it will be a footnote. ... But for us humans living through it, it's a long time.”Ramy Yaacoub, Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, Washington, DC“Social political change takes time — a long time. And as humans, we want prosperity right now. One hundred years from now it will be a footnote,” he said. “But for us humans living through it, it's a long time.”

The United States always had difficulty squaring its record on the ground in the Middle East  with its efforts to promote rights and democracy. It’s even harder after the Trump presidency and a contested election, which featured the sitting president and many Republicans questioning the integrity of the electoral process without any basis in fact.   The Middle East’s long authoritarian relapse increasingly has echoes in the crisis in the United States. On this episode of “Order from Ashes,” we talk with Amy Hawthorne, deputy director for research at the Project on Middle East Democracy. We discuss the obstacles that the Trump presidency created for aspiring reformers in the Middle East, and assess the emboldened crop of autocrats who will challenge the Biden administration. Participants include: Amy Hawthorne, deputy director for research, Project on Middle East Democracy Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

Merve Tahiroglu of the Project on Middle East Democracy told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey’s new social media law, while troubling, will fail to stop online criticism, that President Erdogan and his ruling party have made Turkey hellish for women, and that a potential Biden presidency would mean greater U.S. pressure on Turkey. 

On Friday’s inauguration of Hagia Sophia as a Muslim house of worship, Turkey’s strongman communicated to both his domestic audience in Turkey and an international crowd that he was effectively positioning himself as sort of a caliph of the Islamic world, Tahiroğlu, Turkey program coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, told Ahval’s Yavuz Baydar in the Hot Pursuit podcast.

On Friday’s inauguration of Hagia Sophia as a Muslim house of worship, Turkey’s strongman communicated to both his domestic audience in Turkey and an international crowd that he was effectively positioning himself as sort of a caliph of the Islamic world, Tahiroğlu, Turkey program coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy, told Ahval’s Yavuz Baydar in the Hot Pursuit podcast.

Some North African countries are busy targeting doctors and journalists for speaking out about their government's handling of coronavirus instead of focusing on fighting the virus. Egypt has been struggling since before the pandemic hit, and now its government's crackdown on media and activism about coronavirus is further stressing the country. FOX's Trey Yingst speaks with Amy Hawthorne, the Deputy Director for Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy, on just how far Egyptian President Al-Sisi will go to contain information from citizens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some North African countries are busy targeting doctors and journalists for speaking out about their government’s handling of coronavirus instead of focusing on fighting the virus. Egypt has been struggling since before the pandemic hit, and now its government’s crackdown on media and activism about coronavirus is further stressing the country. FOX’s Trey Yingst speaks with Amy Hawthorne, the Deputy Director for Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy, on just how far Egyptian President Al-Sisi will go to contain information from citizens.

Densely populated living quarters, no full lockdown, and a poor public healthcare system has left Egypt struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic. There is no open press in Egypt, leaving many of its citizens uninformed and unaware of the severity of the virus outbreak. FOX's Trey Yingst speaks with Amy Hawthorne, the Deputy Director for Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy, on how coronavirus is exacerbating the situation in the Middle East.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Densely populated living quarters, no full lockdown, and a poor public healthcare system has left Egypt struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic. There is no open press in Egypt, leaving many of its citizens uninformed and unaware of the severity of the virus outbreak. FOX's Trey Yingst speaks with Amy Hawthorne, the Deputy Director for Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy, on how coronavirus is exacerbating the situation in the Middle East. 

Marwa Baabbad, Head of ORG's International Projects, is joined by the Middle East Institute's Nadwa Al-Dawsari and Fatima Abo Alasrar to debunk five popular myths about the conflict in Yemen. Music by Bensound About the discussants Marwa Baabbad is Head of International Projects with ORG’s Strategic Peacebuilding Programme. She manages the project Yemen: Rethinking the Peace Process, working with Yemenis engaged in regional strategic thinking groups in Hadramaut and Marib governorates. She joined ORG in July 2018. Fatima Abo Alasrar is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute. Before joining the Institute, Alasrar was a Senior Analyst at the Arabia Foundation in Washington DC, MENA Director for Cure Violence, Research Associate at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, a Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, and an International Policy Fellow at the Open Society Foundation. From 2006-12, she worked as an advisor for the Embassy of Yemen in Washington, DC. Earlier in her career, Alasrar served as a program officer for the Department for International Development (DFID) in Yemen. Nadwa Al-Dawsari is a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute. Before joining the institute, she was the Yemen Country Director for Center for Civilians in Conflict, a Senior Non-resident Fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy, and a founding Director of Partners Yemen, a local affiliate center of Partners Global. Earlier in her career, she worked as a senior program manager at the National Democratic Institute in Yemen, managing elections monitoring and tribal conflicts programs. Nadwa has over 20 years of field experience in Yemen. She conducted extensive research in Yemen, providing deeper insights into the internal dynamics of the conflict in the country. Her publications have been featured by the Middle East Institute, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the Atlantic Council, Lawfare, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), the Washington Post, and the Center for Civilians in Conflict, among others.

In this episode, we spoke with Jessica Noll, who is a Ph.D. candidate at Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg, Germany. From October 2017 to May 2018, she was a visiting research fellow at the DC think tank the Project on Middle East Democracy and in February 2019 published a research study titled Fighting Corruption or Protecting the Regime? Her study examined the history of anti-corruption drives and institutions in Egypt. In our talk, Jessica explains how corruption takes root in societies and the underlying motivations of some regimes when launching anti-corruption campaigns or establishing anti-corruption bodies.

Aykan Erdemir,  a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former member of the Turkish parliament, Howard Eissenstat, associate professor of Middle East History at St. Lawrence University and senior non-resident fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy, discusses possible scenarios for Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies when one day power changes hands.

Why the Gezi park trial is crucial from the perspective of Turkey's relations with the West? - Howard Eissenstat, associate professor of Middle East history at St. Lawrence University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy.

When Reccep Tayyep Erdogan party, the AKP, won a landslide victory in Turkey's 2002 general elections he became a very different kind of Turkish leader from his predecessors. The AKP is a religious party in what was an avowedly secular political tradition.  For a time, Erdogan presided over a booming economy and was hailed for being a modernizing muslim leader in a troubled region. His relations with Europe and the United States were strong, and he sought to play a stabilizing role in the middle east.  But all the while, Erdogan was consolidating his power. It started slowly at first and in recent years the degradation of Turkey;s independent institutions has accelerated. This includes clampdown on media and the corruption of the courts and a massive political purge following what Erdogan alleged was an attempted coup in 2016.  Erdogan was become the quintessential example of a new kind of leader around the world--the illiberal authoritarian democrat. That is, someone who is democratically elected, but then systematically uses the power of the state to entrench himself in power.  This brings us to recent events in Turkey. On March 31, an opposition leader Ekrem Immoglu won election as Mayor of Istanbul, a position incidentally that Ergoan held before he became Prime minister. Election authorities, clearly at Erdogan's request, invalidated those results and called for a re-run of the election and weeks later, Immoglu won again--this time by a wider margin.  So what does this election tell us about Ergodan's hold on power and the trajectory of Turkish politics? On the line with me to explain the global significance of municipal elections in Turkey is Howard Eisentstat, he is an associate professor of middle eastern history atSt Lawrence University and senior non-resident fellow a the Project on Middle East Democracy.    Become a premium subscriber   https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches 

In this full episode of "Exploring Minds", Michele Carroll and Shadi Hamid explore Shadi's deep relationships with and understanding of middle eastern politics, with particular regards to the Muslim Brotherhood, Islam, & The Fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, which led to the current relationship between Islam and democracy. - Shadi Hamid is a senior fellow in the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World in the Center for Middle East Policy and the author of "Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World" (St. Martin's Press), which was shortlisted for the 2017 Lionel Gelber Prize. He is also co-editor with Will McCants of “Rethinking Political Islam” (Oxford University Press) and co-author of “Militants, Criminals, and Warlords: The Challenge of Local Governance in an Age of Disorder” (Brookings Institution Press). His first book “Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East” (Oxford University Press) was named a Foreign Affairs "Best Book of 2014." Hamid served as director of research at the Brookings Doha Center until January 2014. Hamid is also a contributing editor at The Atlantic and vice-chair of the Project on Middle East Democracy's board of directors. - SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/exploringmindsshow FOLLOW ALONG FOR UPDATES AND NEW EPISODES: Discord - https://discord.gg/YhaAcN3 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/exploringmindsshow Twitter - https://twitter.com/ExploreMinds_TV Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/exploreminds_tv/ Website - exploringminds.show — Exploring Minds with Michele Carroll is the online show committed to exploring the world beyond talking points. Thank you for listening! Support the show.

Associate Professor of Middle East history at St. Lawrence University Howard Eissenstat spoke with Ahval editor-in-chief Yavuz Baydar on the possible outcomes of Istanbul’s mayoral election rerun on Sunday. Eissenstat, a nonresident senior fellow at Project on Middle East Democracy known for his prolific writing on Turkey, discussed the possible impact of the Öcalan letter and the stakes of the Istanbul elections.

The White House confirmed that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is to meet President Trump at the White House on April 9. The invitation to the White House was offered amid a deepening crackdown on human rights and a further erosion of the rule of law in Egypt, nearly six years after al-Sisi ousted President Mohammad Morsi. The White House visit comes as Egypt is facing yet another inflection point that could further ensconce al Sisi in power. At issue are a series of constitutional amendments that would effectively make al Sisi president for life and create what analyst Amy Hawthorne calls a "personalist dictatorship." Amy Hawthorne is the deputy director for research at the Project on Middle East Democracy and co-author of a recent Foreign Policy piece on the current tumult in Egyptian politics.. After years of crackdowns on political opposition, she explains why Egyptian politics is poised to enter a potentially more dangerous phase. We kick off with an extended conversation about the circumstances that brought al Sisi to power, including the events of Egypt's Arab spring and its aftermath.  We then discuss the implications of recent moves by al Sisi to further consolidate power. We recorded this conversation a few days before it was announced that al Sisi was to visit Washington, DC on April 9th. If you are listening to this episode contemporaneously, Amy Hawthorne does a good job of setting the scene for that visit.  If you have 20 minutes and want to learn how al-Sisi has subverted democracy and undermined human rights in Egypt over the last six years, have a listen.  Support the show. Go Premium! 

In this episode we tackle questions that have perplexed many for decades. Is the middle east ready for democracy? Does the Arab world understand democracy ? My guest Mr.Ehab Lotayef, is a political activist, political commentator, writer, and the former chairperson of the Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy. During our conversation we discussed the roles of religious institutions and the upper class in hindering the democratic process in the region. We arrive at well thought out conclusions, and brainstorm some future steps to help the region solve its problem Share your thoughts with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Something-About-Everything-252540085473157/?modal=admin_todo_tour

In this episode we tackle questions that have perplexed many for decades. Is the middle east ready for democracy? Does the Arab world understand democracy ? My guest Mr.Ehab Lotayef, is a political activist, political commentator, writer, and the former chairperson of the Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy. During our conversation we discussed the roles of religious institutions and the upper class in hindering the democratic process in the region. We arrive at well thought out conclusions, and brainstorm some future steps to help the region solve its problem Share your thoughts with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Something-About-Everything-252540085473157/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Host Aroop Mukharji interviews Dr. Tarek Masoud, the Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School, about the shifting political dynamics of the Middle East, the region's potential for democratization, and a triple snack of doughnuts, coffee, and Turkish delight.

Mark Leonard speaks with Asli Aydintasbas, Jeremy Shapiro and Julien Barnes-Dacey about what effect the incident might have on relations between Saudi Arabia, the US and Turkey. The podcast was recorded on the 16 October 2018. Bookshelf: The Jungle Grows Back by Robert Kagan https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576193/the-jungle-grows-back-by-robert-kagan/9780525521655/ The River of Doubt by Candice Millard http://www.candicemillard.com/river-of-doubt.html Lords of the Desert by James Barr http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Lords-of-the-Desert/James-Barr/9781471139796 Khashoggi disappearance: Time for an independent investigation by Julien Barnes-Dacey https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_khashoggi_disappearance_time_for_an_independent_investigation Picture credit: Mohammed bin Salman's Saudi Arabia: A Deeper Look by April Brady/Project on Middle East Democracy via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/pomed/26087328517, CC-BY-2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

It's amazing how often one news story seems to replace another as our collective memory seems to get increasingly short. Just a week ago we were focused on apparently-butchered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and this week it's the turn of American priest Andrew Brunson, captured and now released by Turkey.  In this week's media review with Clarion's Arabic Affairs Analyst Ran Meir we hear the suggestion that the two incidents may be connected. (Photo: Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi: April Brady / Project on Middle East Democracy / flickr - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Another season of elections is upon the Middle East. Egypt’s presidential election appeared anything but free, as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi renewed his authoritarian mandate and squelched even the appearance of competition. In contrast, both Lebanon and Iraq are hosting freewheeling parliamentary campaigns, with elections coming in both countries in May. How much do these electoral contests serve to bring more democracy? Status-quo players have learned how to navigate the electoral process without engaging in any significant reform or opening—whether outright authoritarians like Egypt’s Sisi, or more complex but profoundly undemocratic warlords and demagogues like many of the sectarian leaders in Iraq and Lebanon. Our guests examine the connections between elections and democracy in this latest cycle of voting in the Middle East, in a global context where basic political propositions about the viability of electoral democracy are being called into question. Participants include: Sima Ghaddar, policy associate, The Century Foundation Michael Wahid Hanna, senior fellow, The Century Foundation Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

On the 7th anniversary of the Arab Spring uprisings, host Carol Castiel and senior Middle East reporter Mohamed Elshinnawi, talk with Amy Hawthorne, Deputy Director for Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy, about the significance and implications of the current unrest in Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, as well as the upcoming elections in Egypt, which are set to be a sham.

On the Middle East. Democracy Now. October 16, 2000.