Vol 60 No 7 | ALGERIA Protests flush out the old guard 5th April 2019 Popular anger has finally unravelled the Bouteflika power network. Cronies are under arrest and there are doubts the deep state can survive Over the 20 years before President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on 2 April, Algeria-watchers took to comparing the political outlook to making mayonnaise. Resistance to poor servi... READ FOR FREE
Vol 60 No 6 | ALGERIA A spring in the step 22nd March 2019 The president may be on his way out, but who will replace him is far from clear as the protest movement ploughs on The Arab Spring has finally reached Algeria. People power on a scale not seen in 30 years forced elderly and infirm President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to agree not to stand for a fifth...
Vol 60 No 5 | LIBYA Haftar puts south in the game 8th March 2019 The Serraj camp claims all the legitimacy but General Haftar's forces now control the south – and have all the clout The Sharara oilfield is appropriately named: the Arabic word means 'spark'. It was the catalyst for a dramatic change in the strategic balance between General Khalifa Haftar's Liby...
Vol 60 No 4 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNIONWESTERN SAHARA Fishing for favours 22nd February 2019 Encouraged by a powerful Moroccan lobbying effort, the European Parliament decided on 12 February to endorse the new EU-Morocco Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement in appar...
Vol 60 No 3 | TUNISIA Eight years of transition 8th February 2019 As established parties gear up for elections later this year, Premier Chahed's new party hopes to offer a credible alternative Two distinct narratives dominate the political landscape eight years after President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia as the Arab Spring erupted. One relates to the par...
Vol 60 No 3 | MAURITANIA President says au revoir 8th February 2019 Abdel Aziz looks ready to stand down, but he is keeping a tight rein on power and may yet decide to return The announcement that Defence Minister Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani is to be the ruling Union pour la République (UPR) candidate in this year's presidential elections ha...
Vol 60 No 2 | MOROCCO Anger and innovation 25th January 2019 The king’s new development strategy will seek to answer chronic problems that threaten the monarchy’s long-term stability There will be more glitzy openings of high-profile infrastructure like Africa's first high-speed train, coupled with headline-grabbing sackings of officials following 'colèr...
Vol 60 No 2 | ALGERIA A stasis of emergency 25th January 2019 Bouteflika looks certain to stand again. Sick, isolated and out of ideas, he is a cipher for a political system that is out of time President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's quiet mid-January visit to his cardiologist in Grenoble reminded Algerians that for all the country's economic and social problems, politics remain...
Vol 60 No 1 | EGYPT Business thrives, society waits 11th January 2019 Gas finds, steady oil prices and the recovery of tourism help a strengthening economy while rights take a back seat The Egyptian economy is primed to show impressive results in 2019 on the basis of core indicators such as real GDP growth, the current account and foreign direct investment. Howeve...
Vol 59 No 24 | EGYPT Sisi & Sons 7th December 2018 The President’s allies are drafting changes to the constitution to entrench his powers. Sisi’s sons are taking a greater role President Abdel Fattah el Sisi's long-anticipated plan to change the constitution to extend his term in office has begun to take shape. He began his second term as president in Jun...