Vol 58 No 7 | MOROCCO Bye bye Benkirane 31st March 2017 With the Prime Minister now out of government, the Palace has won an important round in its battle with the Islamists For now, King Mohammed VI's much anticipated move to replace Abdelilah Benkirane as Prime Minister seems to have ended a deep political crisis that lasted nearly six months....
Vol 58 No 6 | LIBYA Squaring the triangle 17th March 2017 Momentum is building behind General Haftar but the UN-supported government in Tripoli still has strong advocates International support for General Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA), based in the east, is growing beyond his core base of external supporters of Egypt, Russia...
Vol 58 No 6 | MOROCCOWESTERN SAHARA Standoff in the Sahara 17th March 2017 Moroccan forces have withdrawn behind their defensive wall at Guerguerat in Western Sahara after months of rising tension on the disputed territory's southern border with Mauritania.
Vol 58 No 5 | EGYPT Hot-money boost for economy 3rd March 2017 The Egyptian pound rallied strongly last month, but relying on short-term capital inflows also carries risks When the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to float the currency at the start of November in order to unlock US$12 billion of finance from the International...
Vol 58 No 5 | ALGERIA Bouteflika unbowed 3rd March 2017 Could Algeria's power-brokers really be serious about engineering a fifth term for their infirm and wheelchair-bound President? Since winning since a fourth term in April 2014, 79-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has shown little appetite for giving up the reins of power, at least until a...
Vol 58 No 4 | MOROCCO Don't read the fine print 17th February 2017 Morocco's re-admission to the African Union leaves unresolved a major contradiction between the Kingdom's constitution and that of the AU, to which Morocco is now a signatory since...
Vol 58 No 3 | LIBYA Front lines in flux 3rd February 2017 The UN-backed unity government is disintegrating while rival armed blocs in the east and west gear up for a battle for Tripoli Many now predict the disintegration of the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and with it, the fragile balance that has kept open war from breaking out....
Vol 58 No 2 | MAURITANIA Out with the Ould 20th January 2017 The promise of the President's retirement will dominate politics as the opposition seeks to create a broad alliance Politics in Mauritania could be radically reshaped in the months ahead if talks between the opposition Forum national pour la démocratie et l'unité (FNDU) and the grassroots anti-slavery...
Vol 58 No 2 | MOROCCO Benkirane's 'bras de fer' 20th January 2017 The clash between the Palace and the Islamist PJD will shape politics as much as the kingdom's efforts to rejoin the AU The struggle over who will join Morocco's next coalition government has continued into the new year and could continue for some time yet. The coalition is again to...
Vol 58 No 1 | TUNISIA A coalition of hope 6th January 2017 Donors line up more support to help confront deeply uncertain prospects for security and an economy damaged by terrorism Prime Minister Youssef Chahed's 'unity' government seems to have plenty going for it, with a good balance of political factions and technocrats, and strong international backing. Underlining Tunisia's...