North Africa

The political turmoil in Egypt has prompted renewed concerns about the security of oil and gas supplies from the Middle East. The country's proximity to two key chokepoints -- the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandab Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden -- is significant. Yet

On February 9, 2011, Washington Institute executive director Robert Satloff testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The following is an excerpt from his prepared remarks. "Events of the past two weeks have constituted an earthquake in terms of Arab political dynamics, the pursuit of security and peace in the

"Islam is the solution" -- slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood The following sampling of comments by Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt explains the group's position in the current crisis and its attitudes toward the United States, Israel, and the rest of the Arab world. On protests in Egypt: "Our first

A crucial player in Egypt's evolving political crisis, Mohammed ElBaradei is a lawyer by profession and the former head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, from which he retired last year. He was awarded -- along with the IAEA -- the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic role

Robert Satloff makes specific recommendations for actions the U.S. government can take to support reform in Tunisia.

Inspired by events in Tunisia, tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on January 25 in major cities from Alexandria to Cairo, the largest demonstrations to hit the country since the bread riots of the 1970s. The government, which did not initially confront demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square

Today, President Zine al-Abadine Ben Ali of Tunisia stepped down after days of worsening riots and, coincidentally, one day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bluntly criticized Middle Eastern leaders during a speech in Qatar, where she accused them of tolerating "corrupt institutions and a stagnant political order." In Tunis

On November 22, 2010, Dina Guirguis, David Schenker, and Leslie Campbell addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute to discuss the context surrounding Egypt's parliamentary elections. Held a week after the forum, the elections were reportedly marred by irregularities. Ms. Guirguis is a Keston Family research fellow

This is the third of a three-part series on Egypt's political future. PolicyWatch #1717 discusses the country's upcoming parliamentary elections, while Policy Watch #1718 addresses Egypt's use of constitutional and executive power. Recognizing that the Egyptian regime has set the stage for an undemocratic father-son transition, nearly one million Egyptians