After over a decade of division between rival factions in eastern and western Libya, the Trump administration has put forward a plan to unite the two sides through a power-sharing agreement. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Jonathan M. Winer to unpack the details of this proposal and its potential consequences for the Libyan people. Winer, who served as United States Special Envoy for Libya, offers analysis of the plan’s viability, the response of various actors on the ground, and whether it can stabilize the country and help resolve its deep-seated challenges.
The Far Reach of the Iran War: Food Insecurity from North Africa to the Sahel
Within weeks of the Strait of Hormuz closure, fertilizer prices began to rise sharply. Tanker traffic through the strait, which handles one-third of the global fertilizer trade, fell by 90%. Across North Africa the impacts are multiplying, and this is having ripple effects for the Sahel in the south, adding to food price inflation, migration pressures, and the erosion of state legitimacy. The situation underscores how food security is a governance issue compounded by geopolitical crisis.
Battered but Still Standing, Egypt Tries to Weather the Economic Ravages of the Iran War
While Egypt is not in the direct line of fire in the US-Israeli war with Iran, its economy is acutely vulnerable to the conflict. In addition to the rising energy prices and shortages that have affected much of the world, it also struggled with issues that reflected its economy’s own underlying structural vulnerabilities.
Three months after the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood remains in shock. In two and a half years, the group went full circle, from an outlawed organization to one that won a plurality in parliamentary elections and saw its candidate win the presidential election, to that president’s ouster a year later and the subsequent court verdict ordering the group’s shutdown. During this short journey, the Brotherhood shifted alliances.
In early 2012, Hagg Hassan had a complaint. A resident of the village of Ab’adeyet Wally Mizar in Fayoum, 65 miles southwest of Cairo, Hagg Hassan had been receiving a monthly pension of 300 Egyptian pounds. But one day, he was given only 250. Hagg Hassan was livid. The budget cut would also apply to his wife and widowed daughter—a loss of 150 pounds for the household. Hagg Hassan lit a cigarette and asked his daughter to write a petition.
There can be no doubt that revolutionary activities gripped Egypt after the January 2011 uprising began. Yet, just as revolutionary waves pushed for greater freedoms and social justice, counterrevolutionary forces responded to maintain some semblance of a Mubarakist-regime without Mubarak. The prospects for increased political freedom look dim at the moment.
Panel IV: Engaging the International CommunityModerated by Michael Hanna, The Century Foundation Jason Brownlee, University of Texas at AustinAmy Hawthorne, Atlantic CouncilMohamed Elmenshawy, Middle East InstituteAbdel Monem Said, al Masry al YoumClosing remarks by Kate Seelye, The Middle East Institute.
Panel IV: Engaging the International CommunityModerated by Michael Hanna, The Century Foundation Jason Brownlee, University of Texas at AustinAmy Hawthorne, Atlantic CouncilMohamed Elmenshawy, Middle East InstituteAbdel Monem Said, al Masry al YoumClosing remarks by Kate Seelye, The Middle East Institute.
Panel IV: Engaging the International CommunityModerated by Michael Hanna, The Century Foundation Jason Brownlee, University of Texas at AustinAmy Hawthorne, Atlantic CouncilMohamed Elmenshawy, Middle East InstituteAbdel Monem Said, al Masry al YoumClosing remarks by Kate Seelye, The Middle East Institute.
Panel IV: Engaging the International CommunityModerated by Michael Hanna, The Century Foundation Jason Brownlee, University of Texas at AustinAmy Hawthorne, Atlantic CouncilMohamed Elmenshawy, Middle East InstituteAbdel Monem Said, al Masry al YoumClosing remarks by Kate Seelye, The Middle East Institute.
Moderator: Robin Wright, USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished ScholarHossam Bahgat, Egyptian Initiative for Personal RightsMirette Mabrouk, Atlantic Council Jawad Nabulsi, al Nebny Foundation Diane Singerman, American University
Moderator: Robin Wright, USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished ScholarHossam Bahgat, Egyptian Initiative for Personal RightsMirette Mabrouk, Atlantic Council Jawad Nabulsi, al Nebny Foundation Diane Singerman, American University
Moderator: Robin Wright, USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished ScholarHossam Bahgat, Egyptian Initiative for Personal RightsMirette Mabrouk, Atlantic Council Jawad Nabulsi, al Nebny Foundation Diane Singerman, American University
Moderator: Robin Wright, USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished ScholarHossam Bahgat, Egyptian Initiative for Personal RightsMirette Mabrouk, Atlantic Council Jawad Nabulsi, al Nebny Foundation Diane Singerman, American University
Moderator: Robin Wright, USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished ScholarHossam Bahgat, Egyptian Initiative for Personal RightsMirette Mabrouk, Atlantic Council Jawad Nabulsi, al Nebny Foundation Diane Singerman, American University
Panel II: Working Toward a National Reconciliation
Panel II: Working Toward a National Reconciliation 11:00am-12:30pmModerator: Thomas Friedman, New York TimesNader Bakkar—co-founder, al Nour PartyDina Guirguis—Tahrir Institute for Middle East PolicyWael Haddara—former senior advisor to Mohamed MorsiHani Sarie Eldin—al Dostour Party
Panel II: Working Toward a National Reconciliation
Panel II: Working Toward a National Reconciliation 11:00am-12:30pmModerator: Thomas Friedman, New York TimesNader Bakkar—co-founder, al Nour PartyDina Guirguis—Tahrir Institute for Middle East PolicyWael Haddara—former senior advisor to Mohamed MorsiHani Sarie Eldin—al Dostour Party
Panel II: Working Toward a National Reconciliation
Panel II: Working Toward a National Reconciliation 11:00am-12:30pmModerator: Thomas Friedman, New York TimesNader Bakkar—co-founder, al Nour PartyDina Guirguis—Tahrir Institute for Middle East PolicyWael Haddara—former senior advisor to Mohamed MorsiHani Sarie Eldin—al Dostour Party
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
