Summary: Sisi has transformed the military in Egypt from a security institution into the sole guardian of the state but the story of the military establishment in Pakistan and the fate of Imran Khan should serve as a warning to the Egyptian president about what can happen should he run afoul of the generals to whom he has assigned ultimate power.
Summary: the destruction of Egypt’s brief democracy and the mass repression that has followed was enabled by the 2013 Rabaa massacre and those who supported it, among them secular liberals and leftists and a broad swathe of the Egyptian public who bought into a rabidly nationalistic narrative.
Summary: Beijing’s overarching desire to defend its governance model domestically, especially at a time when it is facing sustained economic headwinds, calls into question the benefits of BRICS membership for traditional US allies in the MENA region.
Summary: Mohammed bin Zayed has diligently, carefully and quietly built his small Gulf state into a regional powerhouse. Matthew Hedges analyses how he has done that.
Summary: a group of top Egyptian security officials are busted in Zambia with gold, weapons and millions of dollars in cash. Sisi fumbles the response.
Summary: Egypt’s President Sisi has locked his nation and his own fate into a tight embrace with the military, one that is inflicting huge damage on the majority of Egyptians and saddling the country with a massive debt load.
Summary: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi while presiding over an ongoing economic crisis largely of his own making still manages to retain a firm grip on power; predictions of his demise are premature.
Summary: amidst domestic political uncertainty and a lack of coherent policy formulation in the autumn of 2022 the UK found its presence in the Gulf and the wider Middle East in danger of slipping further into decline.
Summary: child abuse is a huge problem but social taboos and government indifference means little action is taken; in war zones such as Syria physical and sexual abuse is a deliberate regime weapon; breaking the taboos, providing sanctuary and support for survivors and arresting, convicting and jailing perpetrators is urgently required.
Summary: a black comedic classic by one of Egypt’s greatest writers, a brilliant new analysis of Yemen, a breath taking generational novel from Kuwait, a deep dive into security in the Gulf monarchies, essays from Arab LGBTQ+ writers and how MbZ built himself and his closest family members into a regional powerhouse.
