Authoritarianism

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – An enormous explosion damaged a building housing secret police in a northern district of Cairo (Shubra al-Khayma) on Thursday early morning, wounding nearly 30 persons, including 6 police personnel, who were transferred to hospital for treatment. Two different branches of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) claimed responsibility, the […]

Authoritarianism

Egypt’s “Terrorism” Law Violates “Fundamental Freedoms”

contributors

By Kitty Stapp | (Inter Press Service) | – – NEW YORK (IPS) – Egyptian authorities are already holding a record number of journalists behind bars, and a draconian new anti-terror law signed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday will further broaden the crackdown on dissent, press freedom groups warn. It imposes heavy penalties […]

Authoritarianism

The Long Knives Come out in Baghdad

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In principle, the idea of streamlining the Iraqi government and making it more efficient is a capital one. But the reforms being pursued by Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi have to raise some questions about the direction the country is taking. One step al-Abadi has taken announced […]

Authoritarianism

Turkey: As Violence hits Istanbul, southeast, Can Pres. Erdogan turn it to Political Advantage?

contributors

By Alpaslan Ozerdem | (The Conversation) | – – Armed attacks on the US consulate and a police station are the latest in a wave of bloody violence in Turkey that has now reached Istanbul. They are just two violent incidents to take place in the past few weeks, all of which appear to have […]

Arab Spring

Young Protesters Languish in Jail under Egypt’s Military Counter-Revolution

contributors

By Nelly Bassily | ( openDemocracy) | – – Yara Sallam is starting the second year of her sentence in Qanater Women’s prison outside Cairo. She says, “I do not feel any regret or self-defeat, the prison is not inside me.” Yara Sallam is starting her second year of detention in an Egyptian prison. No […]

Authoritarianism

While Saudi Arabia Goes to War Abroad, It’s Simmering at Home

contributors

By Giorgio Cafiero and Daniel Wagner | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – To hear Saudi leaders tell it, the primary threat to the kingdom’s stability is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Worried over Washington and Tehran’s slowly improving relationship, Riyadh has projected an increasingly militarized and sectarian foreign policy aimed at countering Iran’s alleged […]

Arab Spring

Syria: When al-Assad Regime shuts off Internet, State Violence Spikes

contributors

By Sarah Myers West | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | – – EFF has noted and protested when authorities deliberately cut off Internet access in times of unrest. As a restraint on the freedom of expression of those affected, communication blackouts during protests are unconscionable. But recent research by Anita Gohdes, a postdoctoral researcher at the […]

Authoritarianism

2 Years after Coup, will Assassination of Egypt’s Att’y General be Pretext for More Repression?

contributors

By MariaGloria Polimeno | (The Conversation) | – – Hisham Barakat, Egypt’s most senior prosecutor, has been killed by a car bomb that hit his motorcade in Cairo. The attack came just a month after Islamic State (IS) urged its followers to attack Egypt’s judges and its “deep state” in revenge for their jailing scores […]

Authoritarianism

Democracy in retreat in Half the 193 UN Member States

contributors

By Thalif Deen | – – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Democracy is on the retreat and authoritarianism is on the rise in more than 96 of the U.N.’s 193 member states, according to a new report released here. The two regions of “highest concern” for defenders of civic space are Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle […]