On 27 August 2021, Dr. Stephen Walt, a brilliant leader in international relations and Foreign Policy columnist, wrote an article expressing the view that the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was strategically sound, indicating that the (...)
French President Emmanuel Macron met with the leaders of the Lebanese political forces last week in the wake of the massive explosion that hit the port of Beirut. According to many sources, he told them that without reform, they would not get any (...)
Multiple local challenges have cast shadows on the European Union's foreign policies recently, including:
1- Crises of the democratic model that have increased against the backdrop of the European elites losing their credibility and the crisis of (...)
It is not a striking revelation to say that we have an image problem. Many foreigners believe that Egypt is a dangerous country torn between jihadists and tyranny. Many foreign observers also think that the Egyptian state can do nothing good, (...)
It is not a striking revelation to say that we have an image problem. Many foreigners believe that Egypt is a dangerous country torn between jihadists and tyranny.
Many foreign observers also think that the Egyptian state can do nothing good, (...)
A proper study of the origins of the discourse on Egypt that prevails in European and French academia today would need to investigate the evolution of the radical left after 1968 and the collapse of Marxist thought in Europe during the 1970s.
We (...)
A proper study of the origins of the discourse on Egypt that prevails in European and French academia today would need to investigate the evolution of the radical left after 1968 and the collapse of Marxist thought in Europe during the 1970s.
We (...)
Some colleagues who recently went to Europe were appalled by what they heard from various officials there. “They still do not understand the true nature of the Muslim Brotherhood. They are still unaware of our predicament,” these colleagues said.
I (...)
With the present deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara a lot of US and European think-tanks are publishing materials on this issue. They sum up the background, discuss the current clashes and make recommendations: either accept (...)
I am currently reading US author Eliot Cohen's magnificent book Supreme Command. First published in 2002, it has successfully passed the test of time, though perhaps with one or two exceptions.
The book deals with civil-military relations in (...)
I have spent many years and a considerable amount of time reading, assessing and making sense of the memoirs of the former Free Officers who led the 1952 Revolution in Egypt. Some of these were an easy and pleasant read, while others were more (...)
Last month a debate erupted on social media in Egypt. The behaviour of a TV journalist and her questions to a deprived teenager led some to say that the worldview of the Egyptian middle classes was calamitous. It was heartless, ill-informed, and (...)
Last month a debate erupted on social media in Egypt. The behaviour of a TV journalist and her questions to a deprived teenager led some to say that the worldview of the Egyptian middle classes was calamitous.
It was heartless, ill-informed, and (...)
I have spent recent months reading what journalists close to the state have had to say about the 25 January Revolution, and I have used this column to discuss the “conspiracy theories” that structure some of these narratives.
I have tried to (...)
I have spent recent months reading what journalists close to the state have had to say about the 25 January Revolution, and I have used this column to discuss the “conspiracy theories” that structure some of these narratives.
I have tried to explain (...)
In a previous article I wrote that many journalists close to the Egyptian state, many state actors, and indeed many other influential groups believed that the former Mubarak regime in Egypt was the victim of a sophisticated conspiracy orchestrated (...)
After the end of the academic year, I returned to my hobby of studying different accounts of the 25 January Revolution. I decided to focus on narratives by Egyptian journalists said to be close to the state apparatus. They had close access to top (...)
After the end of the academic year, I returned to my hobby of studying different accounts of the 25 January Revolution. I decided to focus on narratives by Egyptian journalists said to be close to the state apparatus.
They had close access to top (...)
In the March issue of the influential US magazine Foreign Affairs, Kurt Campbell and Ely Ratner, two former officials of the Obama administration, have published an important article entitled “The China Reckoning: How Beijing defied American (...)
You cannot consult any Western think tank's website without seeing a lot of policy papers and analysis on China's rise and foreign policy. These deserve close study, as China is likely to become the major question of today. The Egyptian Embassy in (...)
Donald Trump's Iran decision is explained by two sets of factors: Trump's personality, stubbornness and ignorance; and his wish to please his base, some lobbyists, and Bolton-like hardliners.
Trump's decision frightens me and I am not sure it is a (...)
I am writing this article amid speculation about US President Donald Trump's decision on the future of the Iran nuclear agreement, expected on Tuesday.
The suspense is overwhelming, with most commentators thinking he will decide to terminate the (...)
I am writing this article amid speculation about US President Donald Trump's decision on the future of the Iran nuclear agreement, expected on Tuesday. The suspense is overwhelming, with most commentators thinking he will decide to terminate the (...)
French President Emmanuel Macron told the US media he had “a lot in common” with US President Donald Trump on his recent trip to Washington. He meant that both of them had been candidates from outside the “system” and that neither had a political (...)
French President Emmanuel Macron told the US media he had “a lot in common” with US President Donald Trump on his recent trip to Washington.
He meant that both of them had been candidates from outside the “system” and that neither had a political (...)