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.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid, Professor of Political Science, American University of Cairo, and former Egyptian Parliamentarian, for an examination of the unprecedented changes that have taken place in Egypt over the last three months. Dr. Makram-Ebeid will analyze the current situation in Egypt, as well as expectations for upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid, Professor of Political Science, American University of Cairo, and former Egyptian Parliamentarian, for an examination of the unprecedented changes that have taken place in Egypt over the last three months. Dr. Makram-Ebeid will analyze the current situation in Egypt, as well as expectations for upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
Reform and Development in Egypt: U.S. Goals and Priorities
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Hady Amr of USAID and Thomas Garrett of IRI for a discussion about shifting U.S. funding goals and priorities in Egypt in the wake of the January 25 revolution. Egyptian NGOs and nascent political parties face multiple challenges as Egypt transitions toward democracy, including a lack of resources and a democratic system. Egypt is also facing new economic challenges and calls from some quarters for a Western-backed Marshall Plan. Amr and Campbell will explore the role the U.S.
The Middle East Institute, in partnership with the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, is proud to host two panel discussions on the refugee situation in Sudan. Funded by the European Commission, this event is part of a two year research project which aims to generate policy recommendations that will strengthen transatlantic cooperation to respond to the refugee and internally displaced persons crises in Sudan.
Local Initiatives Prepare the Ground for Sustainable Development in the Middle East: Preliminary Lessons from Egypt
Using Egypt as a case study, this essay argues that the pathway to sustainability in the Middle East is to gradually reconcile competing economic development and environmental agendas. However, broader economic and political forces are inimical to setting about such a sustainable development trajectory. An exception to this adverse trend is the existence of innovative local development initiatives, which connect the livelihoods of the poor and marginalized with their physical environment in a productive way.
Libyan Intervention: Justified By the Circumstances
It was absolutely predictable that Republicans would attack President Obama whatever he did in Libya, though Newt Gingrich, in his overeagerness, overreached by criticizing him for too explicitly opposite reasons. It was also likely that the anti-interventionist left, which sees (almost?) any use of American military power as imperialistic and unwarranted would likewise be opposed.
Cyberactivism and the Arab Revolt: Battles Waged Online and Lessons Learned
The Middle East Institute is proud to host digital media experts Adel Iskandar and Courtney Radsch for a discussion on the nature of the cyberactivism that is fueling the uprisings spreading throughout the Middle East. Iskandar will examine the battle in Egypt between the government and the protesters to control online discourse, analyzing the obstacles and the successes.
Rahm Emanuel famously quipped that a crisis should never go to waste. In his absence, the Administration seems determined not to take sufficient advantage of the ongoing and huge crisis in the Arab world. Its hesitant, uncertain, and (to date) completely ineffectual response to events in Libya sadly make this all too clear.
It now appears that the US finally has gotten serious about doing something meaningful to assist opposition forces in Libya. Exaggerated fears and an insufficient grasp of the adverse consequences of not taking such action previously paralyzed US (and most European) policymakers with respect to even an eastern no-fly zone, let alone more robust measures. Meanwhile, what is left of the organized Libyan opposition is increasingly hard-pressed.
The greatest threat to U.S. national security is Congress’s abdication of its constitutional responsibilities. Nothing could make this point more clear than the current discussion of whether Washington should bear the lion’s share of the costs and risks of a no-fly zone over Libya.
When Egyptians, fed up with corruption, dictatorship, and lousy government, pushed President Hosni Mubarak out the door, some worried whether the burst of enthusiasm for free, open elections and democracy would be squelched by Islamist groups like Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. History teaches that the real question isn’t who starts revolution, but who wins it. What begins as a quest for democracy can produce a new dictatorship.
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.
