By Rasheed Hammouda and Mohamed Ibrahim This article is the second of a three part series. The aim of this series is to dispel the increasingly widespread belief held by both supporters and detractors of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that the circumstances he faces and the actions he takes are similar to those of his predecessors, …
By Rasheed Hammouda and Mohamed Ibrahim This article is the first of a three part series. The aim of this series is to dispel the increasingly widespread belief held by both supporters and detractors of Sisi that the circumstances he faces and the actions he takes are similar to those of his predecessors, specifically Gamal …
Should investors in the east care about a potential housing bubble in the west?
After the dust cleared and the votes were counted for Egypt’s newest constitutional referendum, the interim regime cheered, announcing that the results represented “a clear endorsement of the roadmap to democracy, as well as economic development and stability”. Others were more critical, though perhaps fewer than might be expected were particularly public about their disapproval. …
A few weeks ago, in his regular New York Times column, Thomas Friedman applauded the “radical evolutions” taking place across the Arab Gulf, dubbing them “The Other Arab Awakening“. Friedman makes the sweeping claim that, “in the wake of the Arab Spring, [Gulf leaders] are deeply concerned with their legitimacy, which they are discovering can …
The military continues to descend into further violence, making new enemies and weakening the legitimacy of their allies along the way. How long can they weather the political storm?
The ugly face of military fascism continues to show in Egypt, and if recent happenings are any indicator, the trend shows little sign of reversing. As reported in Al Arabiya, at least three Egyptians have been tried in military court since Morsi was deposed in July resulting in two suspended six-month jail sentences and another …
Last week, the interim cabinet approved a controversial new law restricting Egyptians’ ability to hold peaceful assembly. While the law is yet to be ratified by Interim President Mansour, it represents a massive, draconian step backward for Egypt. The law’s ambiguity potentially gives legal basis for aggressive suppression of protests, and in doing so, it …
Tenuous alliances and complacency have led to little more than bloodshed and obstruction of what really afflicts Egypt “I trust that the international community, which has long rejected terrorism, will firmly stand by the Egyptian people in the fight against violence and its advocates, and will not accept any attempt to justify it, or tolerate …
Deep State? Don’t give them too much credit; their danger is much simpler than that
All the lines have been blurred or bloodied, why do we keep trying to draw more asks Rasheed Hammouda
It’s been a rough few weeks for heads-of-state the world over. In America, Obama faces a growing list of infractions, any one of which would have been campaign killers nine months ago. In much of the Europe, administrations continue to struggle to justify austerity that has yet to fully jumpstart most economies, and more often …
By: Rasheed Hammouda As the Gulf’s major players compete to be crowned the region’s finance king, Egypt may end up benefitting from being left out of the race entirely The race to be MENA’s top financial hub has been heating up over the past few years, a race that Cairo has been noticeably absent from. …
By Rasheed Hammouda No event more perfectly captures the changing relationship between the Gulf powers and their western counterparts than the ongoing investigation into the 2008 Barclays bailout by Qatar. It was reported earlier this year that the nearly year-long investigation by the UK’s Financial Services Authority and Serious Fraud Office has turned to investigating …
