مصر

A State Department official discusses why overcoming cynicism and encouraging reform in the Middle East remains a crucial part of America's role as defender of the international system.

Politics has become a life-or-death struggle for several of America's important partners in the Middle East, says Eric Trager, and their leaders increasingly perceive even mild U.S. encouragement on human rights issues as support for domestic enemies. The next president will face a decision about how to prioritize America's strategic

In Arab Fall, Eric Trager examines the Muslim Brotherhood's decisionmaking throughout the eventful period that commenced with the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings and ended with Mohamed Morsi's overthrow. He explains the Brotherhood's reason for joining the anti-Mubarak uprising, running for a majority of the seats in the 2011-12 parliamentary elections

Egyptians have welcomed news that the Democratic presidential candidate will meet with President Sisi, but rumors such as those linking Clinton to the Muslim Brotherhood are nevertheless likely to persist.

Normalization remains controversial in Arab circles but is no longer taboo, as more Arabs come to view Israel as a potential partner against enemies like Iran.

Given Erdogan's crucial role against the Islamic State, Washington should be careful not to alienate him, in particular by avoiding critical public statements that won't change his behavior anyway.

If the Muslim Brotherhood gets another chance at power, it will work even harder and faster to exclude its competitors and pursue an Islamic state.

After years of foreign policy setbacks, Ankara is trying to mend fences with Israel, Egypt, Iran, and Russia, and the potential implications for the United States are mostly beneficial -- assuming the Turks can actually pull it off.

The latest bailout from Saudi Arabia may be the last, so Cairo needs to focus on helping itself by implementing complex subsidy and tax reforms.