Democracy & Reform

The battle against the Islamic State in Sirte distracted many observers from Libya's ongoing political dysfunction, failed reconciliation process, and growing potential for renewed inter-militia warfare.

Unlike in 1989, the Revolutionary Guards and other powerful Iranian institutions will probably play an outsize role in determining and influencing the next Supreme Leader, especially now that another major revolutionary figure has passed away.

In this essay, eleventh in a series exploring non-Islamist reform actors post-Arab Spring, analyst Mohamed Eljarh explores the prospects for governance in a deeply fragmented, polarized Libya.

If Erdogan can temper his political agenda amid a seemingly endless series of violent incidents, he will go down in history as one of Turkey’s most influential leaders, but otherwise he will be remembered as the man who drove his country into the ground.

Sufism has been repeatedly invoked in U.S. foreign policy circles as a possible ideological counterbalance to extremist ideologies in the Middle East and greater "Islamic world." On a superficial level, for those who view politics as a "battle of ideas," the imagery of pacifist whirling dervishes provides a compelling contrast

Although the two groups remain rivals, their activities in the Middle East and abroad have complementary effects, whether in the form of recruiting disillusioned youths, undermining the regional state system, normalizing support for violent jihad, or other threatening developments.

If the kingdom wants its latest economic reform plan to succeed, it will have to change the culture of its labor force, which is a difficult proposition at best.

While the new legislature is hardly a harbinger of deep reform, broader inclusiveness, or greater personal freedoms, it should be considered another welcome exception to the 'rule' that Arab democracy tends to produce instability, Islamist control, or sectarian oppression.

UAE success stories are legion: Vast oil resources have made the United Arab Emirates one of the wealthiest states per capita in the world. Emirati rulers have pursued economic and social development projects of epic proportions, and citizen support for the country's leadership is believed to be high. Yet, when