Egypt. The country’s first presidential elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak will take place this Wednesday and Thursday, May 23 and 24. Candidates Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh are the current front-runners, although it is difficult to predict the results based on limited available polling data. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi fared well in early voting by Egyptians abroad. Read more »

Egypt. Egyptians living abroad—many in the Gulf, the United States, and Canada—have begun voting in the presidential elections. Turnout has been low thus far, but voters will have until May 17 to cast their ballots. The latest poll numbers from Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies have Amr Moussa maintaining a strong lead, with Ahmed Shafiq overtaking Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh for second place. The survey was conducted on May 8 and 9, however, before last week’s widely viewed debate between Moussa and Aboul Fotouh. Read more »

Egypt is set to broadcast a televised debate between two top presidential candidates, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and Amr Moussa. One was once an inmate in Mubarak’s prisons, and the other Mubarak’s foreign minister.

I have met both men, and they are equally adept at the art of deflecting questions. The next president of Egypt will serve his term competing with the Egyptian military for influence—both men know this, and have bent over backward to be seen as cooperative. Neither candidate clearly represents the generation or ideas that gave birth to the Tahrir Square protests last year, but just as rumors were spreading that the elections would be cancelled and further doom was capturing the new Egyptian political space, the idea of monazarat, debates, has helped lift spirits. Read more »

Algeria. Elections for Algeria’s parliament, scheduled for May 10, are being met with cynicism by many Algerians seeking reform. In a country whose leaders are under pressure but have thus far managed to avoid the fate of their regional neighbors, the elections are being heavily promoted by the government as a step in the right direction. While the elections are expected to be free and fair in comparison with decades of rigged polls, voter skepticism and apathy may result in low turnout. Read more »

When I was invited to visit Bahrain by members of the royal family, I hesitated. They had crushed peaceful protesters last year, and their police had used tear gas against human rights activists. Like everybody else, including some of the Bahraini policemen I later spoke with, I was appalled at the violence and thought the monarchy had blood on its hands. But I felt that declining the offer was irresponsible. I wanted to know the monarchy’s side of the story. So I accepted the invitation—on the condition that I was free to meet Bahrain’s opposition. Read more »

Egypt. Bowing to continued pressure from the Islamist-dominated Egyptian parliament, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has agreed to reshuffle Egypt’s cabinet. Although the reshuffle is less than parliament leaders had previously demanded—dismissal of the entire cabinet—parliament speaker Saad el-Katatni has accepted the outcome as a step in the right direction. Meanwhile, following protests calling for the Saudi government to release Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy and the subsequent closure of the Saudi embassy in Cairo as well as consulates in Suez and Alexandria, King Abdullah has assured SCAF it will consider reopening the Saudi embassy in the coming days. Read more »

The dominant narrative in the West, that Bahrain’s opposition figures are somehow deserving of unconditional support because they are opposing an unelected monarchy, deserves scrutiny—the situation on the ground is more complicated than many recognize. In an interview with CFR today, I explain some of the complications and the geopolitical implications of empowering the Bahraini opposition without them first rejecting sectarianism, embracing women’s rights, abandoning violence, distancing themselves from Iran, and returning to the negotiating table. Read more »

During my visit to Saudi Arabia last week, Saudi friends from various sectors of Saudi life were candid in expressing their sentiments toward government, society, and reforms. I do not wish to divulge their identities, and think that the quotes below from many conversations are self-explanatory about Saudi approaches to issues of domestic concern. While this is not a representative sample, the sentiments being expressed are reflective of one strand of sensitivities on the ground in Riyadh. I know from my own Saudi family members in Jeddah and Medina that their and their neighbors’ views are different from most of what appears below. Nevertheless, most of the quotes below are from English-speaking Saudi men who are educated at Western universities: Read more »

Three countries were on top of the agenda for the many Saudis I met with in Riyadh last week. Again and again, and in passionate terms, Saudi political leaders were keen to stress the importance of arming Syrian opposition players, bombing Iran’s alleged nuclear facilities, and unflinchingly supporting the al-Khalifa monarchy in Bahrain. In their minds, these are not political options, but rather realities on the ground that they worry Washington does not understand. Read more »

I write from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

I lived in Saudi Arabia when the current king came to the throne and I have several Saudi family members—it’s certainly good to be back. In a region engulfed in instability, the malls and mosques of Riyadh offer calm and continuity. But for how much longer? Read more »