Numerous institutional factors have driven and incentivized China’s participation in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. Central to executing China’s first instance of protracted Far Seas naval operations has been inter-agency coordination among the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and other military and civil... MORE

The president of the Central African Republic (CAR), Michel Djotodia, announced on Friday, September 13 that he had ordered the dissolution of the Séléka Coalition. In a presidential statement broadcast on the state-owned Radio Centrafrique, Djotodia, formerly the leader of the Séléka Coalition, warned that "Any individual or... MORE

With Yemen in the midst of a political reconstruction, there are signs that the Zaidi Shiite insurgent group known as the Houthis is taking advantage of the ongoing turmoil to consolidate their de facto rule of the northern province of Sa’ada while making inroads in... MORE

Many local media channels in Egypt are constantly broadcasting the banner “Egypt Fighting Terrorism” in what seems to be a media campaign to mobilize the masses to support the military and police in their crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood members. One large poster near the state... MORE

Tunisia continues to go through a critical phase—to its economic and social difficulties, it now adds a political crisis. It is in this context that new security challenges have emerged. In a climate already made ??tense by the July 25 assassination of a leading member... MORE

The July 3 coup d’état in Egypt was an occasion few mainstream Islamists had cause to celebrate. As the remonstrations of Muslim Brotherhood supporters were drowned out by the rattle of tank treads and the rhythmic palaver of General Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi, Islamic parties in... MORE

Thousands of Yemeni Shi’a Muslims attended the funeral of Husayn Badr al-Din Houthi on June 5 in the northern Yemeni city of Sada’a. Husayn was the founder and ideologue of the Houthi movement and was killed in 2004 in fighting with government forces (Yemen Post,... MORE

Tunisia is in the middle of a political transition but the internal debate is still monopolized by the quarrel between Islamists and secularists. The stalemate is presenting an opportunity for the Salafist movement Ansar al-Shari’a Tunisia (AST) to enter directly into the political fray. Confrontation... MORE

The cycle of calamity plaguing Syria continues to intensify with no end in sight. Syria’s predicament today is far removed from the initial outburst of mass dissent witnessed in March 2011 that saw the Ba’athist regime violently suppress demonstrations demanding political change and reform. This... MORE

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has warned the nation’s largely Shiite political opposition against following through with plans for massive Egyptian-style pro-democracy street demonstrations planned for August 14. The opposition is calling for free elections in the Sunni-dominated monarchy and an end to the authoritative rule of... MORE