RECENT ARTICLES
#DanielGate isn’t done shaking Morocco
The visible displeasure of Moroccans over the past week has shaken the government all the way up to the top: The almighty king of Morocco was compelled to issue a declaration after days of protests, backtracking on [...]
Finding Sanity in Cairo
Finding spaces for sanity and reason amidst Egypt's extreme polarization can be a difficult task when political factions seem intent on walking the road to extremism. Luckily for the rest of us, a small [...]
Why Now Is the Time for Dialogue in Egypt
At times it was the plague. At others it was cholera or scabies. Supporters of the military takeover in Egypt sure aren't shy about expressing their contempt for the Muslim Brotherhood and its [...]
Why Egyptians never cared about that Chinese graffiti
"Chinese Graffiti in Egypt Causes a Stir in China," reads the title of one article concerning the defacement recently discovered in Egypt’s Luxor Temple: a Chinese boy wrote, atop a millennial carving, that he “was here”. The story [...]
Celebrating a Disaster in Egypt
For Foreign Policy: Transitions. You’d think we'd won the World Cup: cars honking, loud celebratory music, people carrying flags. There are also flags hanging from the military helicopters flying at low altitude above Egypt's [...]
The remarkable new fight against domestic violence in Saudi Arabia
Slightly longer version of the version published at Foreign Policy. Hundreds of thousands of readers saw this image in their newspaper: A woman in a niqab with a bruised and bloodied left eye that you [...]
Hacking in Ben Ali’s Basement
Originally published at Foreign Policy: Transitions. These little bastards were responsible for blocking Tunisia's internet. Tunis, Tunisia. The humming of the censorship equipment that ran in Tunis is barely audible, but intimidating nevertheless. You can't [...]
The Bold and the Negotiators: Can the new ministers deliver on the IMF loan to Egypt?
For Foreign Policy: Transitions. Lately I've found myself thinking back to those horrible American soap operas (the "Bold and the Beautiful," etc.) that my late grandmother used to watch. She managed to find [...]
Egyptian MINURSO officer: what NOT to do on a peacekeeping mission
For FP: Transitions. I don't know much about the code of conduct of U.N. Peacekeepers, such as those deployed in the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). But I'm going [...]
Article Archive
Egypt After the Spring: Revolt and Reaction.
Egypt After the Spring: Revolt and Reaction. This Adelphi volume brings together senior sch olars as well as rising analysts of Egypt to examine the tumultuous period from the January 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak, [...]
The US elections (and their aftermath), covered as we do African elections
Had to be done (actually surprised it hasn't already): Writing about the latest US elections like US media writes about African countries. **COUNTRY CRISIS WATCH** [insert CNN "breaking news" type of jingle] The US of A, [...]
Refugees don’t want handouts: they want jobs
Jobs would give refugees both money and dignity Image: REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke Polykastro, Greece Khaled wakes up early. Most people in the refugee camp in Polykastro, in northern Greece, do – the tents [...]