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 | Following the surprise announcement that President Ahmadinejad had won outright the first round of Iran’s presidential election, Karim Sadjadpour explained the implications for the Obama administration’s diplomatic initiative with Iran and the domestic reaction. |
 | While the current electoral law has greatly improved the Lebanese elections system further reforms are needed, including the adoption of proportional representation. Next year’s municipal elections presents an ideal opportunity to achieve this. |
 | "The upcoming elections will be the first to be held in one day with an independent supervisory committee and without any external involvement amidst efforts exerted by the Ministry of Interior to raise voters' awareness and participation", stated Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud during a workshop hosted by The Carnegie Middle East Center (CMEC), in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS) and the International Crisis Group (ICG). The 2009 elections can be considered a return to democratic legitimacy that has been absent for nearly 40 years. |
 | The reaction of Arab countries to the economic crisis has been patchy, uneven, and deficient. Cushioning the blow, protecting the hardest hit, and reigniting regional growth will all be best achieved by an urgent and coordinated response that does not compromise important long-term goals like increased transparency and stability, concludes a new commentary from Ibrahim Saif and Farah Choucair. |
 | The Arab world is questioning the wisdom of building its financial future on the shaky foundations of Western economies, and is increasingly focusing on the development and diversification of its own economies. In a new Carnegie paper, produced in cooperation with the Arab Reform Initiative, Sven Behrendt, Bassma Kodmani, and leading Arab economists discuss the economic, political, and social influences that will determine Arab investment behavior in the coming years. |
 | Oil-producing Gulf states squandered the opportunity to make much needed economic reforms when high oil revenues would have made the task easier. Now, reduced oil revenues and global economic uncertainty make it imperative that they develop competitive, diversified economies, concludes a new paper from the Carnegie Middle East Center. |
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Israeli-Palestinian Peace: American Diplomacy under the Obama administration
26/06/2009
 The Obama administration’s recent efforts on reactivating the Palestinian-Israeli peace process depend heavily on the situation on the ground; if the situation remains difficult, it will be reflected in the success or failure of Obama’s efforts. This was one of the conclusions reached by Dr Nathan Brown, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C., during a seminar at the Carnegie Middle East Center.
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Pre-Elections Media Briefings
11/06/2009
 Lebanon's elections of June 7 are a real political contest across the board. Even in those districts where we know with almost a complete degree of certainty which list would win there is a contest between lists taking place and it is highly unusual in Lebanon to see such a degree of competition. Here are the in depth analysis and result forecasts.
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Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds: Growth, Relevance and Prospects
29/05/2009
 “The emergence of Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds represents the phenomenal movement of once peripheral players into the center of the political and economic system,” according to Sven Behrendt. He made these comments at a panel discussion organized by the Carnegie Middle East Center, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs and the Arab Reform Initiative, entitled “Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds: Growth, Relevance and Prospects.”
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Policy Debates in the Middle East
21/05/2009
 The Carnegie Middle East Center hosted a one-day conference of policy-makers, representatives of international organizations, and regional experts discussing current challenges to forming a well-coordinated policy agenda in the wake of the global financial and economic crisis and future prospects for collective action at the sub-regional level.
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Algerian Presidential Elections: Prospects for Change?
06/04/2009
 "Bouteflika, as he moves into his third term, is increasingly circumventing political institutions. Instead of using political parties or working policies with parliament, he has independently gained loyalty by the distribution of rent", concluded a CMEC roundtable featuring Amel Boubakeur, Associate scholar and Geoff Porter, Director Middle East and Africa at Eurasia Group, who described the April elections in algeria as a "non-event", as seen by the international community.
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Government Response to International Crisis: The Case of Morocco
24/03/2009
 Morocco remained relatively immune vis-à-vis the global financial crisis throughout 2008. However, a significant slow down in the economic activity was reflected in recent indicators and the “emergency plan” put forth to face the repercussions of the global crisis focused on selected segments of the manufacturing sector while failing to prevent a downward trend in the economic indicators.
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Human Rights in the Arab World
10/03/2009
 "Human rights in the Arab region have increasingly worsened", was the main conclusion of the panel hosted by the Carnegie Middle East Center and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights to discuss the findings of the first report 2008 entitled: “From Exporting Terror to Exporting Repression”. the panel included Bahey-Eddin Hassan, Ghassan Mkheiber, Mukhtar el-Trifi, Moataz el-Fegiery, Ghassan Abdallah, Hussam Itani and Dr. Amr Hamzawy.
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Carnegie Tour in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria
24/02/2009
 Political and economic reform, human rights and changing dynamics in Arab politics via a comparative approach between the Maghreb and Mashreq were the main topics discussed by a delegation from the Carnegie Middle East Center including, Dr Paul Salem, Dr Amr Hamzawy, Dr Ibrahim Saif and Amel Boubekeur.
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The Global Financial Crisis: A Scenario of Unpredictable Pessimism
06/02/2009
 "Very severe downside scenarios are possible, but the most likely scenario is an extended global recession," commented Dr. Uri Dadush, newly appointed Director of International Economics at Carnegie, at a rountable hosted by the Carnegie Middle East Center and moderated by Dr. Ibrahim Saif.
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Gaza War: Effects and Repercussions
08/01/2009
 To grasp the logic of the painful events befalling the Palestinian Territories, namely Gaza, we need to examine the multi-level and extremely divided regional environment, especially between Arab official institutions and popular movements and the different Arab regimes that look at the current events based on tactical considerations and unilateral interests, while the people are asking for strategic options, “Resistance” for instance,” stressed Dr Amr Hamzawy at a seminar hosted by the Carnegie Middle East Center. The panel included Dr. Fateh Azzam, UNOHCHR Regional Representative; Dr. Sari Hanafi, AUB professor and Mr. Hilmi Moussa, analyst at Assafir daily.
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Moving out of Kuwait's Political Impasse
Nathan Brown, Web Commentary, June 2009
26/06/2009
 Kuwait must enact further electoral and constitutional reform to break the country’s longstanding political paralysis. Continued gridlock could lead the emir to override the constitution and dissolve the parliament, dealing a major setback to democracy in Kuwait and the region, concludes a new commentary by Nathan J. Brown.
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The Lebanese decide to go West again
Paul Salem, The Daily Star, Thursday June 11, 2009
12/06/2009
 Lebanon's voters have handed a clear defeat to the Hizbullah-led opposition alliance. In a smoothly run and peaceful election, the pro-Western March 14 alliance and two independents emerged with a clear majority of 71 seats, compared to 58 seats for its rivals. The results elicited a nearly audible sigh of relief from Arab capitals, as well as from leaders in Europe and North America.
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In Brave New Financial World, All Rules Are Off
Sven Behrendt and Vidhi Tambiah, The National, June 9, 2009
10/06/2009
 As the clouds of the global financial crisis slowly part, the shock the international community has experienced in the past 18 months is changing to a more reflective, forward-looking state of mind.
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Muslims Loved Obama’s Words, But Are Waiting For Actions
Amr Hamzawy, Web Commentary, June 8, 2009
08/06/2009
 Most Middle East leaders reacted positively to President Obama's address to the Muslim world last week. Amr Hamzawy explains that Obama must follow his words with concrete actions if he hopes to demonstrate a change in U.S. policy in the region: "Obama has bought himself an appreciable amount of good will, but his ability to match words with actions will very shortly be tested in Palestine, Iran and probably sooner in Lebanon."
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Lebanon will need a coalition government
Paul Salem, The Daily Star, Friday June 5, 2009
05/06/2009
 Whatever majority might be gained by either side in Lebanon's upcoming June 7 elections will be very slim. The country will remain almost evenly divided between the two camps of March 14 and March 8, with major communities that make up the Lebanese polity lined up on either side of the political divide. Within this context, stable government cannot proceed without a broad coalition involving both sides as well as a strong role for President Michel Sleiman.
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Beyond Santiago: Status and Prospects
Sven Behrendt, Central Banking, Volume 19 (4)
20/05/2009
 Sven Behrendt, Associate Scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center, examines the relevance of the "Santiago Principles", designed to provide a mechamism of self-regulation and coordination of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
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Growing in Crisis
Amr Hamzawy, Al Ahram Weekly, Issue No 946, May 7-13 2009
14/05/2009
 Political Islamists across the Arab region face challenges in accessing public life, but there are signs that these challenges are allowing them to mature.
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Au revoir justice
Omayma Abdel-Latif, al-Ahram Weekly, 7-13 May
13/05/2009
 Since its inception, the Special Tribunal for the Lebanon Court has been a dividing force among the Lebanese. The court ruling issued last Wednesday by Judge Daniel Bellemare, the tribunal's prosecutor, to release four generals held by the Lebanese authorities since August 2005 without trial has increasingly exacerbated political polarisation in the country one month away from parliamentary elections.
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