First Independent Mena Newspaper
The Arab revolutions of 2011 have brought into immediate focus the following question related to Turkey’s foreign policy: ‘Can Turkey’s economic and political model become a reference-point for the region’s post-autocratic societies, similar to the EU for east-central Europe after 1989?’. Indeed, many political observers see the revolutions in the Arab countries as a chance […]
Recently, a truce was mediated – by Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi – between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. But … how long can such a truce last before the new round of warfare is unleashed? Notwithstanding many obvious analogies with the previous tensions between the two sides (such as Operation Cast Lead at the […]
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zaidan Tuesday survived an attack by a group of armed men in the city of al-Baida, about 200km east of Benghazi, local media reported. Members of the armed group, reportedly the Ali Hassan Al-Jaber brigade, attacked the building where the Prime Minister was due to hold a meeting with members of […]
How important has been the role that social media have played in the Arab Spring uprisings and the subsequent democratic transformation affecting the North African region? This is a question that has been hotly contested in both policy-making and academic circles essentially ever since a Tunisian fruit vendor’s act of self-immolation swiftly wreaked havoc with […]
The 12th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival kicked off Friday evening in the presence of scores of stars from the four corners of the world. The festival was first held in 2001. The world was still under the shock of the 9/11 attacks and organizing a film festival in such an uncertain environment […]
It has been almost two years since the Arab Spring hit the countries of Middle East and North Africa. While some nations have taken a fresh breath of freedom, others have plunged into misery. Day-to-day riots and protests have paralyzed the socio-political functioning of the region, and stifled the tourist industry – the crux of […]
French President François Hollande will pay early 2013 a visit to Morocco at the invitation of King Mohammed VI. The announcement was made Wednesday in the two countries’ capitals following a telephone call between the two heads of state who both said they were looking forward to meeting each other. President Hollande thanked the king […]
After President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was wounded by gunshot last October 13 in what was officially described as a “an accidental shooting”, he appeared on his country’s State TV to reassure its countrymen that he was in good condition before being airlifted to Paris for further treatment. From that time, there were […]
When the 26-year-old fruit vendor, Mohammed Bouazizi – after being slapped around by local authorities one time too many – in an act of desperation and protest, set himself on fire in the Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid, no analyst or politician could have foreseen the wave of regional uprisings that were to follow. What […]
It is common today to associate Salafism with radicalism, nihilist violence and failed states. In fact, Salafism is a heterogeneous religious and political tendency. Salafis agree on the glorification of the early Muslim community, its religious texts, its supposed unity, its energy and moral conduct. However, they differ considerably on the way to revive this […]