الديمقراطية والإصلاح

The upheavals of the last 18 months have transformed an already difficult regional landscape into perhaps the most inhospitable strategic environment in modern history.

There are increasing calls for international intervention in Syria after this weekend's massacre in Houla, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces murdered more than 100 civilians. Obstacles to intervention remain, however, especially concern that the opposition to Assad's regime is dominated by religious fundamentalists. Until recently, for example, the Syrian

In light of the Houla tragedy and other indicators of growing violence, the UN observer mission in Syria will likely be withdrawn, spurring the regime to escalate its offensive operations even further.

The Arab Awakening—in which local youths accomplished through weeks of nonviolent action what al-Qaeda had failed to do through years of terrorism and bloodshed—has created significant opportunities to counter radical Islamist propaganda and leverage financial tools against violently repressive regimes. Yet it has also strained the intelligence community's resources, forcing

The legitimacy of Egypt’s next president will depend on the credibility of tomorrow’s elections, yet credibility may not be enough for many Egyptians.

Middle Eastern states have shifted alliances over the Kurdish question in the wake of the Arab Spring and the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq.

Damascus may be exaggerating the strength of the Syrian jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra.

On May 9, Mahmoud Salem addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Salem, a renowned Egyptian blogger better known as "Sandmonkey," is a longtime analyst of Egyptian political affairs and advocate for free speech and democracy. He ran as a parliamentary candidate last year on the ticket of the Free Egyptians Party. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks.

Does the United States have a moral obligation to intervene militarily in Syria and, if so, when? That was question when three experts—Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Fouad Ajami, T, Washington bureau chief Peter David, and former U.S. envoy to Syria Ambassador Theodore Kattouf—addressed the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s