Vol 55 No 6 | MOROCCOWESTERN SAHARANORWAY Testing the offshore limits 21st March 2014 Sahrawi officials are again trying to get the UN to intervene with oil companies drilling in disputed offshore areas A legal battle may be brewing between the Polisario Front, which since 1973 has aspired to rule Western Sahara, and Norwegian oil services company Aker Solutions over offshore...
Vol 55 No 6 | MOROCCOWESTERN SAHARAUNITED STATES Senate for Morocco 21st March 2014 About a month after the United States Senate passed a bill that, very unusually, affects the disputed territory of Western Sahara, Washington lobbyists Gray Global Advisors revealed they...
Vol 55 No 5 | EGYPT Surprise shake-up 7th March 2014 The late February reshuffle came as a surprise because the quest for ministers will begin again after the presidential and parliamentary elections, due in the coming months. Some...
Vol 55 No 4 | EGYPT Poll systems under scrutiny 21st February 2014 No one yet knows what systems will be used in the coming elections but the conduct of the last referendum raised some big questions Election observers have yet to learn what kind of electoral system will be employed in the presidential election that will precede parliamentary polls. However, for those experts interested...
Vol 55 No 4 | EGYPTETHIOPIA 'Torpedo the dam' 21st February 2014 Egypt is protesting to the United Nations Security Council and the International Criminal Court about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. It will also boycott a meeting in Khartoum...
Vol 55 No 4 | EGYPT The El Sisi enigma 18th February 2014 The head of the Egyptian military looks certain to be elected president in the next three months but his policies are a mystery The popular clamour of ‘Sisi for President!’ started within days of General Abdel Fattah Khalil el Sisi removing Mohamed Mursi from the presidency on 3 July 2013. Ever...
Vol 55 No 3 | WESTERN SAHARAMAGHREB No end to deadlock 7th February 2014 The region has long been a bone of contention between Algeria and Morocco – and natural resource opportunities are forcing it up the agenda The impasse over the sovereignty of the former Spanish Sahara is still preventing the five Union du Maghreb arabe (UMA) nations from achieving regional unity. Prospects of ending...
Vol 55 No 2 | MOROCCO Headaches for Benkirane 24th January 2014 A deteriorating economic situation adds to political tension as parties manoeuvre for next year’s elections Morocco seems to have emerged stronger from the Arab Spring. The constitution promises a more open political system and improved human rights. A coalition government led by the...
Vol 55 No 2 | ALGERIA Après moi, moi 24th January 2014 Despite his infirmity, Bouteflika is set to run again in April for a fourth term. The ruling elite is bereft of political or economic ideas Inconceivable though it seemed only a few months ago that the enfeebled, 76-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika could stand again after his stroke, that is exactly what he is...
Vol 55 No 2 | MAURITANIA Abdel Aziz plays it safe 24th January 2014 The President will hold the political ring while coopting minor politicians and parties, but he’s keeping out of the regional operation in Mali Although the ruling Union pour la République suffered setbacks in some smaller regions in last year’s general election, it has consolidated its grip and still monopolises the political...