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Egyptian police forces, as ordered by president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, have heavy numbers in Egypt leading up to and on the day of the anniversary of the outsing of Hosni Mubarak, January 25th. This attempt to silence protestors is further evidence of the problems the nation still faces.

Compiled by faculty members at the German University in Cairo, this working paper series addresses the effect that watsa has on competence and morality in Middle Eastern economics and society. The authors define watsa as, "the intervention of a patron in favor of a client to obtain benefits and/or resources from a third party." In simpler terms it is a system of social networking in Arab culture in which family and social ties play a significant role in the attainment of economic advantages and resources, largely in the hiring process in businesses and organizations. A person applying for a job seeks out watsa to increase their chances of getting hired. Comparable to nepotism and cronyism, but is not restricted to friends and associates, watsa can also involve strangers linked through some social web of people. Watsa runs somewhat parallel to a Chinese concept of guanxi, based on Confucian ethics and focusing on strong collective ties. While guanxi is a part of Chinese ethics it actually defies Muslim ethical values, which advocates hiring the person most capable. In a Jordanian survey, 87% of respondents want watsa eradicated. While we know that unemployment in the Arab region is widespread, we can assume that this motivates people to do anything they can to improve their chances of obtaining a job. However, the practice of watsa as a whole is actually degrading the economic systems in the Arab sates even further. The article explains the linkage between watsa and poor job performance, economic decline, and the festering of injustice and frustration among the masses in Arab countries.

This looks super interesting, but I can't get the link to open. Thanks for writing a thorough summary of it!

Security forces used excessive force to disperse protests early in the year. Nearly 20 people, most of them Morsy supporters, died in clashes with police in the first three days of January. On January 25, the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising, at least 64 demonstrators died in clashes with police in protests throughout the country.

Al-Qaeda-inspired militant organisation Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem) has claimed responsibility for the 24 January bomb attack on the police headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Initially, the group was known for launching attacks on Israeli targets and interests, but after the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, it has started directing its violence against the Egyptian army and police.

This article begins by illuminating the regional democracy assistance cuts that are dropping from $459.2 million to $298.3 million It explains that the Bush Administration began the quest for democracy in the Middle East, and the Obama administration has only continued in his footsteps. The author presents the viewpoint that the U.S. approach to Arab democratization has been in the form of "ad-hoc crisis management" rather than "large scale reform initiatives." Promoting democracy in the form of democratic politics are insufficient, elections and political parties have consistently proved to weather away and fester further civil strife. Consequently, the article proposes a new approach to the region conflict. This approach calls for "systematic reforms" focusing on basic institutions such as the civil service sector, justice and law enforcement, and the military's role in governance. The idea is that addressing these lacking departments in the arab world will eventually pave the way to a smoother democratic transition. 

The Kurds in Syria are now fearing the use of chemical weapons by the extremist group, ISIS. The chemical weapons were used near the town of Kobani.

There was a huge increase in number of internet usage in Egypt. The internet was a main pathway to join the revolution, but it also causes passive activism and most won't leave their houses to revolt.

Egyptian authorities have invited foreign software companies to help the government track online speech amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent. A twin bombing Monday killed two police officers. Egypt is tightening its control over social media by acquiring new software that would facilitate extensive monitoring of dissidents' communications, putting even stay-at-home opposition supporters at risk.

The article from June of 2013 addresses the issues women face in Egypt and the causes of those issues. The article reflects on the need for women to identify the roots of their injustices and seek opportunities to prevent further restrictions on their rights. The article concludes by recognizing the means that will work best for encouraging women to pursue their rights, such as sing audiovisual media campaigning as well as well as developing "their sense of empowerment to make choices."

This article mentions setbacks in the progress to women rights. These include setbacks by the government and societal norms within the culture.

Re-examining a revolution that is needed in order to create a better environment for women. The Muslim Brotherhood coming into power damaged women's rights.

In accordance with the new anti-protest law, three of the leaders in Egypt's revolution were sentenced to three years in prison. The new law is aimed at Morsi's Islamist supporters after he was removed from office. More recently, officials have seen the law as protecting against the threat of the youth activists who led Mubarak's overthrow. The activists and other supporters call the law and the imprisonment revenge against their former actions. This sentencing followed new charges against Morsi implicating him in conspiracies to destabilize the country. From prison, one of the activists wrote a letter describing police stations as still torturous, suspicion against the Ministry of Interior, and the return of oppression of freedoms.

ISIS has become very rich extremist group because of the oil smuggling business they are involved in.

This article from News Week basically paints a picture of Libyan history and how Gaddafi's reign devastated the state economically, socially, and politically. Author Dirk Vandewalle uses the phrase "a political tabula rasa" which in Latin means a blank slate, to describe the fate of Libya after Gaddafi's rule and convey the extent to which the country has to literally reconstruct every component that makes up a society and its government. He highlights major events that led to the downfall of both the Gaddafi regime and the Libyan state as a whole such as Arab nationalism, Jamahiriya, the Green Book, security apparatuses snuffing all opposition, terrorist incidents, isolation and international sanctions, the Lockerbie bombing, weapons of mass destruction, human right violations, divide and rule policies, and his use of oil revenue to fuel his insurgency. Vandewalle concludes the article with uncertain ideas thoughts towards Libya's future and the way the state is going to literally rebuild themselves from this "blank slate" that Gaddafi left behind. 

Irbil, Iraq (CNN) -- Shortly after ISIS claimed to have carried out attacks within miles of Baghdad, police officials confirmed Tuesday that the ISIS militants had struck Iraqi military checkpoints on the southern outskirts of the capital during the weekend.

From Jordan to the United Arab Emirates, a look at women's rights across the Arab world on the occasion of International Women's Day. Jordan Women can travel freely without permission from their husbands or male relatives. They hold public posts and female pilots, police officers and soldiers.

A car bomb tore up a vegetable market and a police officers' club in Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Tuesday, according to a witness and to regional news reports, striking an area that had been quiet for about two years under a local agreement between the Syrian government and insurgents. Isis has gone on to claim that they were behind the bombins that took place