Vol 59 No 2 | EGYPT El Sisi's shrinking circle 25th January 2018 The President sacked his spy chief a day before announcing his re-election bid. The narrowing of his inner circle betrays jitters President Abdel Fattah el Sisi's office announced the departure of Khaled Fawzy as head of the General Intelligence Service (GIS) on 18 January, the day before the President formal...
Vol 59 No 1 | EGYPT Bombs, votes and petrodollars 12th January 2018 Buoyed by Gulf money, the President is certain to be re-elected. But Islamic insurgents pose a growing threat The presidential election, to be held on 26-28 March, and all but certainly resulting in a second term for Abdel Fattah el Sisi, will be the major event of 2018. El Sisi and his ba...
Vol 59 No 1 | MOROCCO Forward on the southern front 12th January 2018 The Kingdom sees a big future for itself south of the Sahara, but it may not have the resources to ensure success King Mohammed VI (M6) has invested a huge amount of political capital – and the biggest Moroccan banks and corporations' money – in making one of Africa's most notable strategic pi...
Vol 59 No 1 | ALGERIA Cold war and glacial change 12th January 2018 Hostility to Morocco will persist and the political system will stay frozen, as the Western Sahara issue languishes Speculation around the scheduled 2019 presidential election says much about the snail's pace at which Algeria's political class moves. Front de libération nationale (FLN) loyalists...
Vol 58 No 25 | MOROCCO Courtship and crackdowns 15th December 2017 Many Moroccans are proud to see their king bestriding the global stage but are less keen on the autocratic side of royalty Moroccans are now used to King Mohammed VI (M6) leading the kingdom's drive to become a political and economic heavyweight in Africa. For decades North African leaders tended to lo...
Vol 58 No 21 | ALGERIAMOROCCORUSSIA Guns, gas and nukes 20th October 2017 Guns, gas and nuclear cooperation were among the goodies offered by Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev in a 72-hour tour of Algiers and Rabat between 9 and 11 October.
Vol 58 No 21 | MOROCCO M6's apprentices 20th October 2017 The appointment of Nizar Baraka to head Istiqlal (Independence), after months of angry wrangling among the historic nationalist party's political bosses, reflects a wider move back...
Vol 58 No 21 | LIBYAITALY Risorgimento Africano 20th October 2017 Forced to focus on its southern flank by Libya's collapse and the Mediterranean migrant crisis, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's government is getting ever more involved in African...
Vol 58 No 20 | MOROCCOWESTERN SAHARAEUROPEAN UNION Game of names 6th October 2017 African leaders meet their European Union counterparts in Abidjan in late November with migration and increased European investment certain to dominate the agenda. However, an unli...
Vol 58 No 19 | EGYPT El Sisi marshals his allies 22nd September 2017 The President is calming the nerves of supporters in parliament who fear a new election is too risky The approach of Egypt's presidential elections, which are scheduled for April 2018, revealed a split among supporters of President Abdel Fattah el Sisi in the House of Representati...
