Policy Analysis

January 12, 2017 At the end of November, Egyptian parliament approved a new law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), spreading worry in the minds of those interested in Egyptian affairs in general. This law is the latest step toward finishing off rights organizations in Egypt. In addition to targeting NGO workers

In this era, a political observer will not have to look towards the statements coming out of Tel Aviv to learn the nature of Israeli-Egyptian cooperation.

In addition to the schadenfreude of many loyal to the Islamist movement after the attack, there were other voices which were impossible to ignore: those of a group mourning for the soldiers while simultaneously criticizing the army’s leadership.

After the overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011, international actors and observers turned their attention to the Islamists in Egypt. All began monitoring how Islamism would be incorporated into the political equation. Led by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists were dealing with the new struggle around

Cairo believes that relations with Israel are strategically and diplomatically beneficial, and the trend toward greater rapprochement will likely continue.

Lone wolf attacks are inevitable, but U.S. and Western reactions will determine whether the jihadist group succeeds in its long-term goal of turning its hatred into a culture war legitimized by the other side.

May 20, 2016 In the Gulf region, a state of tension prevails regarding what has become of the Arab world. Fears are also growing of Iran’s strength, population, regional expansion, semi-revolutionary ideology, increasingly institutionalized political system, and nuclear agreement. Moreover, Iran has actively involved itself in both realms, using its

April 22, 2016 In a statement issued in early March in by the headquarters of State Security in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City, Egyptian Ministry of Interior General Magdy Abdel Ghaffar announced that Hamas was responsible for the June 2015 assassination of Egyptian Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat. Abdel Ghaffar

April 22, 2016 Following a number of nationalist, independent and partisan Egyptian newspapers, including: Al-Ahram, Al Gomhuria, Al Akhbar, Al Youm Al Sabeh, Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al Wafd, Sawt al-Ummah and Al Shorouk in the past weeks reveals a surprising lack of discrepancy in their rhetoric towards events related to the

April 21, 2016 German philosopher and political scientist Hannah Arendt stated in one of her lectures that it is a problem when politicians make wrong decisions, but a catastrophe when they do not know how to present their decisions to the people. This saying perfectly encapsulates the Egyptian president’s latest

April 17, 2016 On the periphery of international concern, the situation in Libya continues to disintegrate. Yet Libya’s eastern neighbor Egypt has consistently exercised its influence in determining the diplomatic outcomes of the five year-long crisis. Recently, Cairo hosted talks between U.N. special representative to Libya Martin Kobler and Libyan

April 8, 2016 On the afternoon of this past January 24th, while Egypt was preparing for the fifth anniversary of the January 25 Revolution, the young Italian academic researcher Giulio Regeni disappeared in the middle of Cairo. His body turned up several days later, tossed near a security outpost on

Despite the wave of derision and mockery in response to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s latest discourse, the president appears determined to send a message of forbearance towards those who view him with fear and apprehension. He repeatedly delivered this message: referring to the office of the presidency, he stated

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Sheikh of the prestigious Al-Azhar institute, did not equivocate when responding to the 2015 Paris attacks: “We denounce this hateful incident. The time has come for the world to unite to confront this monster [ISIS].” Yet a sizable roster of Muslim reformers, scholars, researchers, and

December 10, 2015 Political reform, in nearly every country on earth, relies on three principles. The first is that a powerful state can impose its influence on the country it rules and force the entirety of its people to submit to the laws it issues. Secondly, and in contrast to

November 4, 2015 The Egyptian pundit Ahmed Moussa, one of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s most prominent and passionate supporters, has recently become the target of a great deal of both local and international mockery. During a recent episode of his television program, Moussa displayed a video ostensibly showing Russian airstrikes

August 13, 2015 In a majestic display, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has inaugurated his first large-scale project as president: a new branch of the Suez Canal, known as “the new Suez Canal.” Although the Muslim Brotherhood and much of the Western media are skeptical about the project’s benefits, with

An Egyptian student reflects on how living and studying in Israel helped reshape everything he had been taught about 'the enemy.'

July 16, 2015 When terrorists assassinated Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat, this successful, high profile attack demonstrated that Egyptian terrorist activity could begin favoring political assassinations in densely populated cities. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has acknowledged this threat and increased security in Egypt, which helped Egyptian forces successfully defeat the recent terrorist

May 1, 2015 The recent decision to deliver F-16 fighter jets, Harpoon missiles, and spare parts for M1A1 Abrams tanks to Egypt puts to rest doubts concerning the Obama administration’s support for President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. Despite the deterioration in bilateral ties over the past two years, the strategic relationship