authoritarianism in MENA

Judge Makram Awad gave five-year sentences in absentia to at least 15 U.S. citizens who left Egypt last year. He sentenced an American who stayed behind to two years in prison, and gave the same sentence to a German woman.

The Egyptian investigation focused on charges that the groups were operating without necessary approvals and had received funds from abroad illegally. Eleven Egyptians who faced lesser charges were handed one-year suspended sentences.

Egypt was run at the time by a military council that assumed power from deposed President Hosni Mubarak. Although the case is a legacy of that era, analysts say it further darkens prospects for an open society after the Islamist-led administration drew up a new NGO law seen as a threat to democracy.

The Shura Council of the Ennahdha ruling party approved the creation of a mixed parliamentary/presidential system for Tunisia’s future government during an emergency meeting

This system would also allow neither the president nor the prime minister to monopolize power.

Ennahdha initially favored a parliamentary system. But Oussama Essghaier, an NCA member affiliated with Ennahdha, told Tunisia Live that the ruling party changed its position in order to reach a compromise with other political parties.

The most recent protests are part of an upsurge in soccer-related violence in Algeria, an indicator that increased wages and government social spending is failing to compensate for frustration with the failure of the country’s gerontocracy in control since independence to share power with a younger generation, create jobs and address housing problems.

The protesters’ retreat into the stadiums amounted to a tacit understanding between Algerian soccer fans and security forces that football supporters could express their grievances as long as they did so within the confines of the stadiums. “Bouteflika is in love with his throne, he wants another term," is a popular anti-government chant in stadiums.

Algeria’s domestic fragility is highlighted by almost daily smaller protests in towns across the country sparked by discontent over lack of water, housing, electricity, jobs and salaries. Protests have led to suspension of soccer matches. Soccer was also suspended during last year’s legislative elections.

parliaments as well as MPs are faced with declining trust rates, with an average of 10% for the Arab countries, as reported in a 2012 IPU study. This might be rooted in three causal factors. First, after initial enthusiasm, Arab citizens are mostly disillusioned and disappointed; many have lost their faith in democracy and hence, in parliaments. This is especially the case for countries where parliaments are currently in limbo. Second, during their recent authoritarian times, parliaments were often perceivedas not much more than a "self-service shop" for those who had a privileged relationship with the ruling elites. This perception lingers on until today, and voters often expect their representatives to “pay back” support shown for them at the ballot box in terms of jobs, money, and similar privileges. Third, Arab parliamentarians are, with an average age of 55, the oldest MPs in the world; this conflicts with many ideals of the Arab revolutions which were associated with youth, spontaneity and anarchy, and might result in another 'generational conflict' about the countries' future political leadership

Watching the uncompromising Erdogan dismiss his opponents and blaming “foreign fingers,” has alarmed many in the Arab world, demonstrating that even “moderate Islamists” have strong autocratic tendencies. The myth of foreign fingers is entrenched inside the minds of not just newly elected, insecure leaders, such as President Morsi of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, but also well established, successful democrats like Erdogan

his illiberalism has serious repercussions for the greater Middle East

The old days of Turkey, when its domestic politics had no wider regional implications are now long gone. Going forward, what starts in Turkey will never just stay in Turkey. The spreading soft influence of the neo-Ottomans on the wider Middle East comes attached with a unique string; it brings more scrutiny and expectations from the Arab public at large who expect more from their Turkish role model.