Democracy & Reform

On February 13, Mehdi Khalaji, Karim Sadjadpour, and Dennis Ross addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Khalaji is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute and author of the just-released Policy Focus Supreme Succession: Who Will Lead Post-Khamenei Iran? Mr. Sadjadpour is an associate at the Carnegie

Testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. One year after mass protests toppled Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is heading in an illiberal, anti-Western direction. The ruling military council has employed deadly force against protestors, subjected thousands of civilians to military trials, raided

"Protest technology" has changed the relationship between authoritarian regimes and their citizens, and there is no going back.

The Revolutionary Guard, with its economic interests and sensitivity to sanctions, is more inclined to strike a deal on the nuclear issue.

Humanitarian safe havens can protect vulnerable civilians only if backed up with sufficient power.

Washington suffered two setbacks in the Middle East this weekend: the Russian/Chinese veto of a U.S.-backed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, and news that the Egyptian judiciary has indicted nineteen Americans in a wide-ranging investigation of U.S.-supported pro-democracy organizations.

An interview by Bernard Gwertzman, CFR.org Amid a surge of violence in Syria, the UN Security Council will discuss Tuesday whether to pass a resolution (Reuters) supporting the Arab League's plan, which calls for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down to defuse a ten-month-old uprising against his regime. Russia

Protesters in the Middle East have made clear that they look to the U.S. for inspiration and support, and that they look down on the U.S. when they believe this support is not materializing.

For the time being, Washington should pay no attention to anything Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says in English and little attention to any private "assurances" it offers.