Arab World

As big as the question of who the winner will be, is what the job of the presidency will be like in the short and long term. This new situation in Egypt is an uncertain balancing act between competing forces. We've never been here before.

Don't hold your breath expecting big things, either bad or good, from this big new government. Expect, instead, business as usual.

Turkey is a real force to be reckoned with in the Levant. And if memories serve well, upsetting the Ottoman Turks never proved to be a very intelligent policy. Upsetting modern-day Turks may not differ.

It is Europe's primary responsibility not to let the Arab Spring slip into a chilly winter. We need, now not later, to build a "Euro-Mediterranean house" and create a solid framework for peace and security in a region which is rapidly turning from an area of influence into an almost "domestic" one.

Over the past 14 months, Iran has steadily lost influence throughout the Middle East. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding how Palestine, Syria and other key strategic battlegrounds now play into Iranian calculations, and how new opportunities have emerged for both Arabs and the West.

BEIRUT -- Laughing for the cameras, the Arab leaders appear nothing if not secure in their power, four longtime members of the Middle East coterie of ...

Once you start talking about spreading democracy and civility to the Arab world, the conversation becomes not about the issue -- helping Syria -- but about helping the entire Arab world catch up to the West.

For the justice that the Middle East wants to arrive, entrepreneurship must be at the center of plans to bolster and remake economies around the region. But what happens when the rules are rigged and existing institutions favor the already enriched?

As the world marks International Women's Day this week, it's time to look ahead to the critical role women in the Arab world are playing in framing their futures after last year's Arab Spring.

The U.S.-Egypt relationship is on the rocks. If it is to be salvaged, both sides will need to change course and pay attention to the concerns of their respective publics, both of whom now hold negative views of each other.

If we are to believe a variety of confirmed and unconfirmed sources in Israel and the U.S., some day in the next few months we may wake up to the news that Israel has bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. Or maybe not.

"People thought: you get democracy, you get jobs," Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki explained to us, as he described the fragility and urgency of the situation facing his government.

There were times I felt as though this were a sort of Hogwart's Castle. But I came to realize that this wasn't the case. The students weren't magical, nor was the place. It was the opportunity for meeting and learning from each other that was the magic.

"While the last several centuries did involve a struggle for global domination, and the last 20 years saw a brief moment in which America was globally supreme, we are now entering a phase in which no power is likely to be truly supreme."

Arab opinion matters. It clearly matters to the West, which has long ignored Arab sentiment. But the views of the public matter within the region as well. The sooner leaders listen and learn, the sooner change can occur.

The Middle East is certainly not the only region to have witnessed such demographic changes; other emerging market economies have successfully harnessed their youth bulges for development. Why should then the demographic transition in the Arab world be feared?

What started as a hyped-up war of 'shock and awe', has ended rather quietly, tainted with mixed reviews as to whether or not the 'mission' was indeed accomplished.

Whilst some commentators have criticized Newt Gingrich's comments as being unhelpful to the peace process, few have challenged the inaccuracy of his statement. And yet Gingrich's comments display a surprising level of ignorance.

The rapidly deteriorating security situation in Egypt has raised questions among Omanis on whether they indeed want radical change, as demanded in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere in the region.

Thanks to social media and talent competition shows like Super Star, Star Academy and now, Arabs' Got Talent, many young Palestinians are getting prime time exposure and introducing the Arab world to their voices and their art.

In Jordan, a shocking 70% of the population is below 30. This is a scenario repeated across the region. These active, aware and agitated populations are the casus belli for the wider insurrection in the Arab world.

It is unclear what exact shape Arab constitutional monarchies will adopt, but what is clear is that more political power will be shifted to parliaments rather than individuals.