Category Archives: Middle East

04May/08

Egyptian politics

Egypt, Middle East, , , ,

 

By Nir Boms and Benjamin Balint
Published March 2, 2007

——————————————————————————–

CAIRO

. — Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Egypt’s leading democracy activist, hangs two photographs in his modest office at the Ibn Khaldoun Center for Development Studies in Cairo. One shows him with Vice President Dick Cheney at the White House; the other is a portrait of Hezbollah’s leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. This juxtaposition tellingly captures some the current state of mind of Egypt’s pro-democracy opposition: insecure and not certain where to turn to. Continue reading →

04May/08

A ‘new’ and ‘open’ Egypt?

Egypt, Middle East, , ,

 

Washington Times

By Nir Boms
Published December 28, 2005

The Middle East appears to be changing. Its dictators are no longer immune from international justice. Their palaces are exposed to international pressure and their reign to increasing scrutiny by the people who already showed us that they can march in the streets of Lebanon, Egypt and even Syria. Elections have taken place not only in Iraq and the Palestinian Authority but also in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt – and that list goes on. A report about the new configuration of the parliament in Egypt appears almost natural in the western media. Continue reading →

29Apr/08

An Unfulfilled Egyptian Promise

Egypt, Middle East, , ,
 
 
 

Nir Boms and Michael Meunier

Barely a month following President Hosni Mubarak predictable re-election, Egypt is gearing itself to a full campaign mode again, as candidates already register for the November legislative polls. The September 7th elections in Egypt, the first ever “open” election have come and gone in the Middle East news cycle, clearing the way for another round of assassinations in Lebanon, another escalation in Gaza, another devastating suicide attack in Iraq. The headlines have told us about the “launch” of a “New path of progress for Egypt”. But words and promises are cheap in the Middle East. Reality has its own pace in mind.

Continue reading →