Current Analysis Algeria: Flooding and Muddied State-Society Relations On November 10, 2001, heavy rains flooded many parts of Algeria, causing hundreds of deaths and damaging thousands of houses and businesses, mostly in the neighborhoods of Bab el-Oued, Frais Vallon and Beaux Fraisier in western Algiers, capital of the country. The torrential downpour, which ironically followed a national prayer Azzedine Layachi • 6 min read
MER Article The Search for Good Governance in Palestine The second Palestinian intifada, a spontaneous expression of anger against the persistent Israeli occupation, has been sustained since last September through a complicated interplay of forces. The early Israeli deployment of sharpshooters quickly shut down large-scale popular protests. In their place, a type of guerrilla resistance, given staunch moral support Charmaine Seitz • 7 min read
MER Article Democratization Without Democracy When King Mohammed VI succeeded the late Hassan II in the summer of 1999, expectations soared. The young king’s investiture seemed to be the final step in a series of political changes that would set Morocco on the road to democracy. Along with a new bicameral legislature and an Catherine Sweet • 13 min read
Current Analysis Turkey's Operation "Return to Life" During the week of December 19-26, 2000, 10,000 Turkish soldiers violently occupied 48 prisons to end two months of hunger strikes and "death fasts" by hundreds of political prisoners. The hunger strikers are protesting the state's plan to transfer its prisoners from large wards to Murat Paker • 6 min read
Current Analysis Iran's Reform Dilemma Saturday's summons of the Ayatollah Ali Khameneii's brother Hadi Khameneii to the Special Court for the Clergy punctuated Iran's tumultuous summer in dramatic fashion. The younger Khameneii, publisher of the moderate daily Hayat-e No, appeared before the tribunal September 11 to face vague charges Ali Mudara • 6 min read
MER Article The Importance of Self-Reliance Shortly before Eritrea's declaration of independence from Ethiopia in May 1993, members of the Eritrean security forces arrived on the doorstep of the Regional Center for Human Rights and Development (RCHRD) in downtown Asmara, the capital. The center's director knew precisely why they had come -- t Dan Connell • 16 min read
MER Article "The Temptation of Democracy" Launched in 1992, Goft-o-Gu (Dialogue) aimed to open channels of constructive dialogue between Iran’s disparate political and intellectual currents. Given the highly polarized and repressive atmosphere at the time, Goft-o-Gu’s publication was a strikingly bold move. The journal discussed issues that Kaveh Ehsani • 11 min read
MER Article The Malaise of Turkish Democracy In his first televised interview in late 1996, just months after taking office, an avuncular-looking Necmettin Erbakan seemed unsurprised at a question about his taste in clothing. “Mr. Prime Minister, we hear that you favor ties by the Italian designer Versace,” said commentator Mehmet Ali Birand. Aslı Aydıntaşbaş • 11 min read
MER Article A Paradox of Democracy? On April 27, 1997, Muhammad Zabara stood outside a polling station in the old city of Sanaa. In a neatly pressed suit and tie, his short hair and mustache freshly trimmed, he greeted voters who had turned out for Yemen’s second post-unification parliamentary elections. A team of Western election mon Jillian Schwedler • 12 min read
MER Article Algeria's Contested Elections Western evaluations of the 1997 legislative elections in Algeria were broadly positive, or at least acquiescent. One European diplomat remarked laconically the day after the poll that the results “don’t cross my pain threshold”; another gave the elections a rating of “six out of ten” as far as their Hugh Roberts • 11 min read
MER Article Mission: Democracy Incumbent national leaders invite foreign election monitors only when it is in their interest to do so. Rarely is significant financial assistance “conditional” on holding elections, although it does improve a regime’s image abroad to do so. For governments being observed, the trick is to orchestrat Sheila Carapico • 11 min read
MER Article Skirting Democracy The practice of selecting political representatives by voting is not new to Lebanon. The parliamentary framework of modern electoral life in Lebanon was established in the 1926 constitution. Elections were held regularly during the French Mandate period, except for interruptions during World War II. Paul Salem • 8 min read
