Tuesday, 28 November, 2022 | |
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Please join the North Africa Initiative of the JHU SAIS Foreign Policy Institute for a roundtable discussion moderated by the Former UN Senior Advisor on Libya Stephanie Williams on “Local Governance as an Essential Tool for State Building in Libya."
What could the real devolution of power from the center to the so-called periphery look like in Libya, a rentier state which has experienced a mostly failed approach towards administrative decentralization since the 2011 uprising? Can a ground-up approach which empowers citizens and their elected representatives at the provincial and municipal level help address the absence of state and institution building in Libya? Can this community level effort help to tackle the proliferation and consolidation of armed groups in the country? We will discuss these and other topics in an open discussion which will also welcome questions from the public.
** The discussion languages will be English and Arabic. Interpretation will be provided.
WHEN
Thursday, December 8, 2022
TIME
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM EST
WHERE
Online via ZOOM & In-Person
Rome Building
1619 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest
Room 806
Washington, D.C. 20036
Admission is free.
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More information about North Africa initiative’s (NAI) upcoming and past events, is available on NAI’s webpage here. | |
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Algeria’s BRICS Gambit May Not Be Such A Risky Bet
Earlier this month, Algeria officially applied to join BRICS, a bloc of what were once fast-growing emerging economies consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — a culmination of an expected, but ultimately puzzling, move. In Algeria’s estimation, perhaps such a risky bet might safeguard its interests more than sticking to a stubborn solo act in a fast-changing world. As Africa’s biggest gas exporter, reportedly supplying about 11 percent of the natural gas consumed in Europe, Algeria is brimming with potential, and is demonstrably capable of attaining the appropriate largesse to be a significant contributor to BRICS.
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Fighting Tunisia’s Rampant Corruption With Autocracy – Saied’s Chimera
Tunisians have long perceived corruption as the third main problem in their country after unemployment and economic mismanagement. Since his rise to power in October 2019, Tunisian President Kais Saied has anchored his legitimacy in a prodigious crusade he claims to be waging against endemic corruption. Three years later, however, Saied’s words have been little more than a tool to legitimize the measures he has put in place since July 25, 2021, to monopolize power and further erode checks and balances.
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Macron Defends Visa Restrictions On Algerians, Moroccans & Tunisians
Traffickers are packing fishing boats with up to 600 Egyptians in hidden coves near Tobruk in Libya, pointing them towards Italy and playing havoc with Rome’s crackdown on migration. Italian officials are facing a rising number of dangerously overloaded fishing boats steaming straight towards their country from the other end of Libya, close to the Egyptian border, and are being forced to step in to avert tragedy.
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AfDB: Tunisia's GDP Growth Expected to Reach 2.5% in 2022; 3.2% in 2023
The Egyptian Parliament expressed its complete rejection to the European Parliament's report regarding the human rights situation in Egypt. In a statement, the Parliament described that the European Parliament decision as disappointing. It also considered the report as evidence on the European Parliament's unjustified insistence on continuing its arrogant and tutelary approach towards Egypt.
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First-Ever Joint Russian-Algerian Exercises on Algerian Soil Spark Western Concern
Earlier this year, in the presence of prominent opposition figures, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the launch of a national dialogue process and a “presidential pardon committee”, sparking hopes for much-needed political and economic reforms that could ease the repression that has reigned for the better part of a decade. The announcement came amid a burgeoning economic crisis, which has seen the pound lose more than a third of its value this year, signalling the dire need for a shift away from the regime’s policy of debt-driven growth. Yet, more than six months later, no serious efforts towards reform appear to be underway.
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How Tunisia's New Electoral Law Sets Back Women's Political Rights
A new legislation decreed by President Kais Saied eliminating the principle of gender parity has come under fire from women's rights advocates in Tunisia who fear the next parliament may be led almost exclusively by men. Decree No. 55 runs counter to the 2022 Constitution by replacing the previous proportional representation system by a single-member constituency system without providing provisions aimed at equal gender representation.
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UN Envoy: Delaying Elections Could Risk Partition of Libya
Egypt's finances remain in a precarious state despite two major currency devaluations this year and a brand new $3 billion International Monetary Fund rescue package, economists say. With debt interest payments set to soak up over 40% of the government's revenues next year and a lack of foreign currency still hurting the economy, investors remain cautious despite a post-IMF bounce in sentiment.
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Greek Foreign Minister Snubs Libyan Counterpart In Spat Over Turkish Exploration Deal
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias snubbed his Libyan counterpart, Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush, abandoning a planned visit to Tripoli to avoid being welcomed by the top diplomat of a government allied with Turkey. Dendias visit to the nation comes after Libya’s Tripoli-based regime signed a deal with Ankara over exploration for Mediterranean oil and gas that is bitterly contested by Athens.
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Algeria Jails Former Head of State Energy Giant Sonatrach Over corruption
Egypt and Greece have signed search-and-rescue and agriculture agreements in the latest move to increase bilateral co-operation and further isolate Turkey. Egypt, Greece and the European Union criticised Turkey’s agreement with Libya’s eastern-based government, saying it infringed upon the sovereign rights of third states and does not comply with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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World101: Middle East & North Africa
World101 is a growing library of multimedia explainers that provide an immersive learning experience in a variety of settings by teaching complex international affairs concepts and foreign policymaking processes through entertaining, interactive, multimedia storytelling techniques.
Discover, learn more and enhance your understanding on the Middle East and North Africa, a diverse region that was once home to great civilizations. Today, however, this region is weighed down by several challenges, including repressive governments, struggling economies, and geopolitical rivalries that inflame local conflicts. But, in many ways, the problems that affect this region reverberate far beyond its borders.
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Kais Saied Sets The Stage For Tunisia’s December Elections
Autocrats love elections, so long as they know they will win them, of course. But because they have zero tolerance for uncertainty at the polls, autocratic regimes still work to set the stage in ways that might suggest an element of competition, all the while taking steps to ensure that their opponents have no real chance of securing an effective foothold in parliaments or other legislative bodies. At least for now, there is good reason to assume that Saied will prevail in shaping an electoral outcome to his liking. The country’s opposition remains split, while the wider population, including a depleted middle class, is consumed by the daily task of searching for basic commodities on the nearly empty shelves of local stores. These conditions do not favor the sustained mobilization of a united opposition front, especially one that includes the widely disliked Islamist-oriented Ennahda Party. Moreover, even if the opposition attained the miracle of a unified front backed by popular mobilization, there are no potential interlocuters close to Saied who might convince him to negotiate.
Daniel Brumberg
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See the latest analyses and posts by FPI Senior Fellow & Executive Director of The North Africa Initiative (NAI), Hafed Al-Ghwell.
Also, catch Hafed's latest and other columns in Arab News.
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You can contact the North Africa Initiative (NAI) by emailing
Lana Bleik
Senior Research Program Coordinator
lbleik1@jhu.edu
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