CMEC blog

Shadi Hamid, writing for Foreign Policy, looks at Aboul Fotouh, one of the frontrunners in the Egyptian presidential election to be held next week.

The Associated Press assesses how internal problems in the Iranian government might open up after the upcoming Baghdad nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries.

Despite the presence of UN observers across Syria, violence continues with daily attacks, including last week’s blasts in Damascus, and there are fears that al-Qaeda may exploit the instability in Syria.

Over the weekend clashes in Tripoli took place between residents loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and residents loyal to the Syrian opposition, which threaten to destabilise Lebanon.

During 18-23 April the CMEC Deputy Chairman, Adam Holloway MP and Director, Leo Docherty travelled to Lebanon to meet with a broad range of Syrian refugees, Syrian opposition activists and members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), in order to gain a deeper understanding of the ground level situation. The meetings took place in Beirut, Tripoli, the Bekaa valley and the unstable Syrian border area.
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CMEC was saddened to hear about the death of Baroness Ritchie, a great friend of CMEC, who was born in Aden and is seen here talking to HE The Ambassador of Yemen.

We look at which figures from Middle Eastern politics and cultural life have been included in TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012″ list.

Leon Goldsmith of Otago University examines the loyalty of Syria’s Alawites to the Assad regime and questions the notion that a rich, privileged Alawite class dominates the country.

Writing exclusively for CMEC, Shashank Joshi from the Royal United Services Institute considers whether the Arab League can be an effective actor in the Middle East following the events of the Arab awakening and recent turmoil in Syria.

Persephone Johnstone-Burt writes exclusively for CMEC on Iran, the sanctions and growing domestic instability.

Egyptian current affairs analysts Dr Elizabeth Iskander and Mina Monir give their verdict on the repercussions of Egypt’s new constitution committee and the escalating dispute between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian Army.

Alistair Burt MP, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa talks about strengthening engagement with the region at the Middle East Association’s Annual Lunch on Wednesday 21st March 2012.

The Economist argues that although the Syrian regime is winning battles, it is losing the war for its survival.

The Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Office will meet tomorrow to discuss potential presidential candidates, a senior member has told Egyptian newspaper Ahram Online.

“It’s hard to improvise an occupation” – Harvard’s Professor Stephen M. Walt on lessons from the war in Iraq.