MER Article The Campaign Against Coal in Egypt A campaign opposing coal imports would seem unlikely to attract much attention given the political upheavals and deepening social polarization that Egyptians have witnessed over the past three years. Yet since 2012, a loose coalition of environmental and human rights activists, government officials Dina Zayed, Jeannie Sowers • 17 min read
Current Analysis New President, Old Pattern of Sexual Violence in Egypt On June 3, the day that the Elections Commission announced the victory of ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt’s presidential race, television announcer Radwa Ruhayyim covered the festivities in Tahrir Square. Surrounded by ululating revelers, she noted that, amidst the celebrations, several women had be Vickie Langohr • 12 min read
Current Analysis Egypt's Government by Baltaga Most reactions to the farcical convictions [http://www.madamasr.com/content/3-jazeera-journalists-given-7-10-year-sentences] of Australian journalist Peter Greste [http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2014/s4032290.htm], Egyptian-Canadian Mohamad Fadel Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamad express shock Andrea Teti • 4 min read
Current Analysis Sisiphus Over three days in late May, ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi, the retired field marshal and former head of military intelligence, was elected president of Egypt with 96 percent of the vote. This tally was far higher than the 51.34 percent recorded in 2012 by the man Sisi helped to depose, Muhammad Mursi, and Gennaro Gervasio, Vivienne Matthies-Boon, Andrea Teti • 12 min read
Current Analysis Stay Off the Street In a recent Slate article, Anne Applebaum makes the case [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/05/egypt_could_learn_from_india_dictatorships_could_learn_from_the_south_s.html] that Egypt’s presumptive president-to-be ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi should look to India, Brazil or S Jillian Schwedler • 5 min read
Current Analysis "You Can Watch the Circus from Your Couch" Wael Eskandar [https://twitter.com/weskandar] is an independent journalist and blogger [http://blog.notesfromtheunderground.net/] based in Cairo. He writes for al-Ahram Online, al-Monitor [http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/egypt-sisi-sabbahi-president-messiah.html], Jadaliyya [http:/ Sheila Carapico • 7 min read
MER Article The Moral Panic Over Chinese in Egypt On a brisk autumn evening in 2010, male coffee shop patrons in the upscale Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek were treated to the sight of young Chinese women in miniskirts circulating to hand out brochures for a new massage parlor. It was an unusual sight indeed for Egyptian public space -- both the wom Jessica Winegar • 8 min read
MER Article The China-Africa Axis in Relation to Other Regional Axes China and Africa grosso modo are often seen as standing at two ends of the spectrum of developing countries, the former having acquired enormous industrial capacity in short order, and the latter not. In this view, a great potential for exchange exists between the two: manufactures and infrastructur Engseng Ho • 11 min read
Current Analysis In Egypt, Nasty Business as Usual Egypt certainly has a penchant for tragicomedy. A week after prosecutors in the terrorism case against Al Jazeera employees [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/22/al-jazeera-trial-media-ejected-inaudible-recordings-egyptian-judge-journalist] introduced a video of sheep farming -- among other (Author not identified) • 3 min read
Current Analysis The Sisi Shuffle This morning Egypt’s military-installed cabinet resigned en masse [http://madamasr.com/content/beblawi’s-government-resigns ]. Initial comment implies that the resignations were a surprise but nonetheless fit into a pattern of events paving the way for a presidential run by Field Marshal ‘Abd al-Fat Joshua Stacher • 2 min read
MER Article Doctors and Brothers There are few obvious reasons to visit Basatin, a poor district off the Ring Road at the southern edge of Cairo. Getting there requires a driver willing to bob and weave through a succession of potholed lanes barely wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and the tiny shops that spill into the street Steven Brooke • 8 min read
MER Article The Muslim Brothers Take to the Streets On August 14, 2013, supporters of deposed President Muhammad Mursi were massacred at two protest camps in Cairo and Giza. In the subsequent four months, the Muslim Brothers have regrouped to launch a wave of popular protest the likes of which has not been seen in Egypt since the January 25 revolutio Neil Ketchley • 14 min read
