Research & Publications: Egypt

Receiving an official selection at Cannes this year, <i>Clash</i> is undeniably an accomplished piece of entertainment, but an incisive, insightful portrait of a post-June 30 Egypt it certainly is not.

Widely considered as one of Egypt's greatest directors, the vivacious, imposing Mohamed Khan had a voracious appetite for life that concealed his real age. He was a man who always seemed to be bigger than death.

In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gonul Tol, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the battle for Aleppo, Turkey's extradition appeal for Fatullah Gulen, and IMF talks in Cairo this week on Egypt's request for more than $12 billion in loans.

Egypt’s housing crisis affects millions across the country, and, if Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government is looking to further consolidate its power, it must address this crisis to ensure that it maintains the support of the country’s poor urban communities.

Despite continued high concern about the country’s dismal human-rights situation, there is deep awareness that Egypt needs urgent aid in its fight against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, as well as serious assistance in boosting its slow economy. There is also growing awareness that while Washington has serious and legitimate differences on a number of domestic and regional issues with almost all of its Middle Eastern allies, the United States cannot face regional challenges on its own, and must negotiate partnerships and burden-sharing with the allies it has in the region.

These days even the hint of a renewal of diplomacy on Palestine is enough to set tongues wagging. In recent months, France has led what remains an inchoate effort to fill the diplomatic vacuum created by the Obama administration's decision two years ago to close its book on Palestine. Pride of place, however, was recently claimed by Cairo.