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Tunisia’s 2023 local elections: How the "bottom-up structure" will strengthen Kais Saied's one-man rule
Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Tunisia’s 2023 local elections: How the "bottom-up structure" will strengthen Kais Saied's one-man rule

    Tunisia’s upcoming local elections, the first to be held under the country’s new constitution, are set to take place on Dec. 24, 2023. The announcement of the date came roughly six months after the publication of presidential decrees, in March 2023, that dismantled Tunisia’s first ever democratically elected municipal councils, putting an end to the decentralization process initiated in 2018.

    November 14, 2023

    Sudan: Baby steps amid ongoing violence
    Photo by Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • Sudan: Baby steps amid ongoing violence

    It isn’t a surprise that Sudan’s two warring sides — the Sudanese Armed Forces and its sprawling paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — did not agree to a ceasefire. When they resumed talks in Jeddah, mediated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in late October, the RSF was busy launching a major offensive on the vast western region of Darfur.

    China’s growing maritime presence in Egypt's ports and the Suez Canal
    Planet One Images/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • China’s growing maritime presence in Egypt's ports and the Suez Canal

    In recent years, China’s presence in Egypt’s strategic ports has grown noticeably, including the involvement of both private and state-owned Chinese companies. While this reflects Beijing’s growing ambitions in the region, the opacity of the Sino-Egyptian agreements and the blurry lines between China’s commercial ports and its military aspirations raise questions about the potential implications.

    November 3, 2023

    The UN must step up on Sudan
    Photo by AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • The UN must step up on Sudan

    Nearly five months on, Sudan’s war between its army and largest paramilitary force has destroyed much of Khartoum, the adjacent cities of Bahri and Omdurman, as well as key towns in Darfur. The warring forces have killed thousands of civilians, destroyed critical infrastructure, and forced a staggering 4.9 million people to flee their homes. The U.N. is providing important humanitarian assistance, but it should be doing far more, especially to advance accountability and improve coordination in the messy diplomatic arena. Both the high-level week in New York and the Human Rights Council session in Geneva present opportunities that it should not squander.