Publications & Tools

Over the next two days, Egyptians will elect their president for the first time. Cairo is covered in campaign posters and preparations are under way. But many wonder what the election will actually mean. After nearly 18 months of street clashes, political uncertainty and a deteriorating economy, many believe the election will mark the end of a tumultuous transition. "Once the president is elected, he will clean up our streets and take care of the economy", Sharif, a taxi driver, said. "A new Egypt will be born."

A Facebook page created for the killing of Egyptian teen Khaled Said that originally helped to crystallize the sentiment of the opposition is now being used as a platform to incite violence, showing how social media can be used not only to prevent violence, but to stoke it as well.

The fledgling new governments in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco are now facing persistent challenges from a different kind of unrest - labor strikes. In all three countries, hundreds of strikes have repeatedly disrupted government services and private industries since the Arab uprisings erupted in January 2011.

The Islamists Are Coming is the first book to survey the rise of Islamist groups in the wake of the Arab Spring. In this book, Robin Wright offers an overview and 10 experts identify Islamists in Algeria, Egypt (two), Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Tunisia. Each chapter is designed to help both a general audience and specialists.

Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at helping prevent conflict in North Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special project on genocide prevention.