Despite their many differences, transitions taking place across the Arab world are united by demands for “bread and freedom.” They also share the common denominator of uncertainty. As turmoil and conflict continues in many places, what role can external actors play to facilitate democratic transitions in the region?
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“In the end, it was Yemeni wisdom that prevailed,” Jamal Benomar, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Yemen, told an IPI audience at an Arab Intellectual Series event on June 21, 2012. Mr. Benomar was speaking about efforts to bring about a settlement between the government and the opposition in Yemen last year […]
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A large number of elections have been conducted in West African countries in recent years, and these elections provide insights into some of the strengths and weaknesses of the electoral process.Successful transfers of power in countries such as Senegal, Guinea, and Niger have resulted in significant progress toward peace and stability in the region.However, the […]
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This year’s IPI Vienna Seminar, which took place on May 23-24th, focused on “The Uprisings: The Future of North Africa and the Middle East.” This 42nd session of the seminar attracted high-level participation and considerable interest because of recent dramatic developments in the region as well as the on-going civil war in Syria, elections in […]
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As longtime historians and journalists, Shareen Blair Brysac and Karl E. Meyer have documented ethnic cleansing and ancient hatreds. “We’ve had a depressing life,” joked Ms. Brysac at a Beyond the Headlines event at IPI on March 19th.The two decided their next book would be more upbeat. “We thought there must be some places we […]
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“The United Kingdom is convinced that the Arab Spring is a force for good,” William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, told an IPI audience while hosting a panel entitled “Activism to Accountability in the Middle East” on March 12.“The United Nations and its member states must continue to work together in supporting the people of […]
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“We were the unknown soldiers who were moving and controlling the opposition,” Kamel Riahi, an award-winning Tunisian novelist and critic of the previous regime, said at an IPI event while reflecting on the role of intellectuals in the Tunisian revolution. “Their voices may have grown dimmer after the revolution, but, for the revolution, they were […]
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Addressing a Beyond the Headlines audience at IPI on October 4th, Robin Wright, author of Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World, called the 2011 popular uprisings across Northern Africa and the Middle East “the counter-Jihad,” and added, “I use the term deliberately.” Elaborating on it, she said the counter-Jihad contained three […]
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Al Jazeera interviewed Abdullah Alsaidi, Senior Fellow at IPI and the former Yemeni Ambassador to the United Nations, who resigned six months ago in protest against the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in the country.
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IPI held a lunchtime discussion with two Arab writers and intellectuals—Hisham Matar, a Libyan author based in London, and Ali Al-Maqri, a poet and novelist from Yemen—who represent the spirit of change in their respective regions. The event was moderated by Abdullah Alsaidi, IPI senior fellow and the former Ambassador of Yemen.
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