The Arab monarchies must not be undermined by the Islamist movements, but rather should come to some sort of working arrangement with them.
In the aftermath of the Arab spring the “Turkish model” is being held out as an optimistic scenario for democratisation with an Islamic framework. In conversation with Deniz Kandiyoti, women’s rights and gender activist Pinar Ilkkaracan puts Turkey’s record under scrutiny - and finds it wanting
Will the rights of the women, who participated in the struggles leading to fall of Gaddafi, be put under pressure in the new Libya? Kathryn Spellman-Poots assesses women’s status under Gadaffi and points to the perils ahead.
As Egyptians prepare for their first democratic elections since the fall of Mubarak, their political parties are learning new lessons about the contest for power. It remains to be seen if they can translate their revolutionary organizing tools into electoral victories.