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The growing instability in Libya’s eastern province is best addressed in the near term by an effective constitution and the institutionalization of the security sector.
Whether American leaders regard the events of the past few days as a teachable moment or a moment of truth is not yet clear. If steady hands and far-sighted leadership prevail, the first approach will dominate.
State complicity with organized crime is at the heart of instability in the Sahel and Sahara region, fomenting conflict and fueling the rise of al-Qaeda.
The turmoil in the Middle East, highlighted by the assassination of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, is fraught with security implications for the region.
The killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya will send shock waves through U.S.-Arab relations far beyond the specific Libyan context and place pressure on the Obama administration in the middle of its re-election campaign.
Although tainted by the recent violence in the region, the democratic transitions sparked by the Arab uprisings cannot be measured in days or months, but in decades.
The attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi is a tragic reminder of Libya’s worsening security and the challenges of governance that the country faces.
Since Libya established a secular democracy, conservative Muslims in Libya, known as Salafists, have felt disenfranchised. The attack on the American embassy is in part an effort to gain public attention.
Egypt’s best hope for a democratic transition depends heavily on the process of political reconstruction contained in the constitution-writing process.
Much of the promise of Egypt’s revolution has been squandered but there is still room for optimism.