In this paper, Ishac Diwan analyses how autocratic regimes in the Middle East sustain political dominance, including through the exploitation of rents that support the security state and entrench a system of crony capitalism wherein loyalty is secured through corruption as opposition is quelled. Economic performance is subsequently weakened under the ‘static inefficiencies’ endemic to such a system, with competition confined to ‘insiders and outsiders’ in the absence of liberalism.
Arab Limited Access Orders: Can They be Reformed? - Dr. Robert Springborg
In this paper, Robert Springborg analyses how elites in Arab states foreclose the potential for peaceful change by monopolising power and wealth while excluding the majority of citizens from influence on policymaking. Through repression and corruption, elites protect their privileges by resisting reform and reinforcing the encroachment of the ‘deep state’.
Liberal Questions about the Current Arab Reality - Hazem Saghieh
In this paper, Hazem Saghieh examines the crisis of liberalism in Arab societies amid the absence consensus on the concepts of nation, state, and identity. Importing modern ideologies without historical and social adaptation has transformed liberalism into a mere ‘intellectual sensibility’ rather than a cohesive political project. Xenophobic nationalism, Islamist movements, and the rise of nationalist populism globally pose a threat to liberalism requiring profound intellectual and political revisions.
Egypt’s Cultural Elite: Guardians of Stagnation - Ezzedine C. Fishere
A scathing critique of Egypt’s cultural elites as “guardians of stagnation” rather than drivers of hope and progress, examining their failure to lead democratic transition due to dogmatism, victimhood, and state dependency, and tracing how the civic energies that emerged after 2011 were absorbed into old ideological frameworks.
Egypt: Human Rights Organizations Condemn Expansion of Supreme State Security Prosecution’s Use of Summons and Excessive Bail to Intimidate Independent Voices
The undersigned human rights organizations condemn the continued escalation in summoning human rights defenders, journalists, and political figures for investigation before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP). These repeated summonses, …
The mirage of January 25: When freedom came last
Was January 25 a revolution or an uprising? This question concerns the future more than the past. Was the aim to change the system of governance, to remove President Hosni …
Egypt: Investigate Journalist’s Claims about ‘Murder’ of Disappeared Former MP Mostafa El-Naggar
The undersigned human rights organizations demand an urgent and transparent investigation into the complaint submitted by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms to the Aswan Public Prosecution, on behalf …
Civil Society Organizations Question GANHRI’s Continued “A Status” Accreditation for Egypt’s National Human Rights Council
The undersigned human rights organizations express deep concern regarding the decision to maintain “A status” accreditation for Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) following the 2025 review conducted by …
Subject: Urgent Appeal for the Release and Protection of Mr. Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek
Dear Minister Burke, We write on behalf of an international coalition of human rights organizations, religious freedom advocates—including members of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable—and independent experts to respectfully …