With uprisings continuing to take place in Turkey, questions must now be asked over whether the ‘Turkish model’ for democracy is the way forward for the Arab world.
EPA/Evrim Aydin
The ongoing protests across Turkey, stretching from May 28, show there is ample evidence of a flourishing culture of democracy in the country. They also highlight a worrying counter trend.
Last week…
A US flag lies among the debris of the US consulate in Benghazi.
EPA
The American delegation in Benghazi has been left reeling by the deaths of four of its staff, amongst them Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The deaths occurred in an effort to evacuate the consulate…
A group of Iranian pilgrims captured by the Free Syria Army who claim are Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Al Arabiya
This week the Islamic Republic of Iran made a blunt statement, reiterating its position in relation to the on-going conflict in Syria.
According to Saeed Jalili, a senior advisor to the Iranian Supreme…
Supporters of president-elect Mohammed Morsi celebrate his victory in Tahrir Square.
EPA/Andre Pain
For the first time perhaps in all of Egyptian history, its citizens have chosen their own leader. The election of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammad Morsi as the president of Egypt is a major historical…
Mubarak’s demise may not mean the end of his regime for Egypt.
EPA
Symbols are important, but often deceiving. This is certainly the case of Hosni Mubarak, whose inexorable decline acted as a metronome for the Egyptian political crisis.
In early 2011, Mubarak’s political…
The field is varied and the stakes are high in Egypt’s upcoming presidential election.
EPA/Khaled Elfiqi
In the face of the largest mobilisation Egypt has ever witnessed, President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 12, 2011. Facing an unlikely coalition of disaffected youth, labour workers, Islamists…
Iraqi security forces inspect a taxi in the wake of a deadly attack on the city of Kirkuk last month.
EPA/Khalil Al A Nei
Last week in Baghdad, 17 men were executed.
Nothing special to note here in the conflict ridden, post-US withdrawal landscape of Iraq, except that this time they were executed by an Iraqi court.
This…
Many Syrians prefer the stability of the Assad regime to the chaos they saw after dictators were deposed in Libya and Iraq.
EPA/Youssef Badawi
The stench of hypocrisy is a hard one to wash out for the West in the Middle East.
We shook Gadaffi’s hand and pretended we liked his outfits when he coughed up for Lockerbie and we snuggled with Mubarak…
The Arab League has repeatedly failed to effect political change in the region.
EPA/Amel Pain
This weekend, Syria witnessed some of its bloodiest days since political agitation began last year. Dozens were killed after the government launched a new military offensive against rebel group the Free…
Protestor in Cairo’s Tahrir Square behind a flaming barricade.
AAP/Mohamed Omar
Recent days have seen a return to Cairo’s Tahrir Square by thousands of Egyptians concerned by what they see as a delay by the ruling military council in implement full democracy in Egypt.
With reports…
We need to make sure quality is more important than quantity in our online engagement.
Flickr/joshfassbind.com
Social media provokes some of the most voluminous and heated responses in two key areas of contemporary society – democracy and privacy. Promoting the first and threatening the second, social media is…
Gaddafi’s death raises moral questions about whether he should have been put on trial or not.
EPA/Rehan Khan
Muammar Gaddafi met his end after being cornered in a Sirte drainage pipe, having fled from a NATO air-strike on his convoy. Questions about exactly how he died – whether caught in crossfire or summarily…
The first free elections borne from the Arab Spring were held in Tunisia. Over 90% of registered adults voted.
EPA/Zacarias Garcia
It has been a tumultuous week in the life and times of democracy in the Mediterranean. Seven days punctuated by joyous hope and its ugly opposite, sullen despair.
The promising news came from Tunisia…
Colonel Gaddafi’s death presents a challenge to regional unity.
EPA/Alessandro di Meo
The death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Sirte highlights the remarkable impact a single individual can have on a whole country. Until he was captured or killed Libyans could not get on with the job of…
After 42 years in charge of the country, and surviving a violent uprising, Colonel Gaddafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte.
EPA/Khaled el-Fiqi
The former Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has been killed. He was caught in a firefight between his supporters, and rebels backing the National Transitional Council, following a Nato airstrike…
Saudi women are still segregated from men in many walks of life, but next year they will get the right to vote.
AFP/Fayez Nureldine
While Saudi women celebrate their hard-earned right to vote in next year’s Municipal Council elections, the frenzy of international media interest highlights just how mysterious this country remains…
Coptic Christians have long been discriminated against in Egypt, but the violence against them, and the government response to it, signals concerns for democracy in the country.
EPA/Mohamed Omar
The violence in Egypt involving Coptic demonstrators, military units and unidentified thugs shocked the country and rang alarms about prospects for transition to democracy.
Egypt is going through a revolution…
Peace and stability will be crucial for Libya’s post-revolution development.
AAP
With the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s autocratic regime, the transitional government in Libya is prompting hopes for a new era of democracy in the country.
While a swift transition to democracy is certainly…
Protestors from the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City.
AAP
The occupation of Wall Street began in the deserts of Western Sahara and on October 15th it will spread to our Australian cities.
In El-Ayoun, Moroccan controlled Western Sahara, in the Gdeim Izik refugee…
Is it time for the world’s dictators to “friend” online communications? (Headdesk)
AAP
In the euphoria following the downfall of the Mubarak regime in Egypt, Wael Ghonim, the so-called “hero” of the revolution proclaimed:
“Technology played a great role here. You know, it helped keeping…
The capture of Colonel Gadaffi’s son was celebrated by crowds in Benghazi.
EPA/STR
The effort to overthrow Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi appears to be reaching its climax with key elements of his military forces surrendering to the rebels and senior members of his regime* in rebel hands…
Syrian troops withdraw from the city of Hama where they were quelling pro-democracy protests.
AFP/STR
The United States has stepped up sanctions against Syria, targeting President Bashar al-Assad’s financial resources. Syria claims to have withdrawn its troops from the city of Hama, which has played a…
A portrait of President Assad in Midan, Syria.
Brian Stoddard
Emeritus Professor Brian Stoddart, former Vice-Chancellor at La Trobe University, returned recently from an extended assignment working with universities in Syria.
Below is his account of his time in…
Colonel Gaddafi is a brutal tyrant, but his arrest warrant is a political move.
EPA/Sabri Elmhedwi
Arrest warrants have been issued for the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, and Libya’s intelligence chief Abdullah Sanussi. It follows a referral by the United Nations Security Council…
Still from a video showing Syrian anti-government protestors in Hama on June 3 2011.
AFP/YouTube
As we watch the spot fires of democratic uprisings flicker across Syria it is worth remembering that the government’s response so far has been mild.
The religious tensions of the country and disaffection…
Revolutions encourage people to see the world through different eyes.
AFP/STR
The lives of millions of people in the Arab-speaking world are changing. Often for the first time, women and men have jumped, danced, kissed strangers and sung in the streets. There is talk of dignity…
