Since taking office, President Mohamed Morsi has clearly set himself apart from his predecessor Hosni Mubarak, as reflected in two trends: asserting a regional leadership role for Egypt and opening Cairo's foreign policy to new potential partners. But although Morsi comes from the Islamist...

After the January 2015 attacks in Paris, Muslims from all over the world showed impressive solidarity with the victims. This was the more surprising given that the victims included cartoonists working for the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo", whose caricatures of Mohammed had previously caused...

Since the military coup of July 2013, one of the characteristics of the Egyptian regime has been the lack of clarity on the boundaries of political activism and on what activities it would, or would not, tolerate. Red lines have been shifting frequently, as a plethora of presidential decrees has...

President Hosni Mubarak's ouster is a historical turning point for Egypt. The assumption of power by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces could bring about a political opening of the country, but this is by no means assured. Egypt's future is not, however, solely dependent on whether the...

The lower house of Egyptian parliament, the People's Assembly, convened for its first meeting on January 23, 2012. But that did not bring the political protests in the country to an end. Many of the predominantly young activists fear that the military will not withdraw from the political...

Abdul Fatah al-Sisi came out as winner of a highly unfree and unfair presidential election held between 26 and 28 May. In office the former military chief now faces great challenges. The country's economy is in ruins and living conditions have tumbled over the past three and a half years. But...

Under Abdel Fatah al-Sisi Egypt has moderated its stance in the Nile water dispute with Ethiopia, the most important state upstream. In the conflict over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Cairo is now seeking cooperation rather than conflict. But this rapprochement is not driven by any...

The Egypt Economic Development Conference staged at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh from 13 to 15 March will showcase the country's investment potential. Cairo hopes to prove it has started a turnaround after four years of political and economic turmoil. In fact a recovery is not even on...

On 25 March 2015 a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states launched air strikes on Yemen to halt the advance of the Houthi movement. A few days later the summit of the Arab League decided to set up a joint Arab army. Nevertheless, the two most important Arab countries support opposing concepts for...

On 5 June 2017 Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and a number of allied states broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed a partial blockade. Their stated demand was for Qatar to cease its support for "terrorist" groups and its policy of "destabilising" other...