Politics
Topics
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Tunisia's new constitutionThe pain and joy of giving birth
It took the political parties in Tunisia two years to agree on the country's draft constitution, which was adopted on Sunday, 26 January. The resulting document, however, is as contradictory as Tunisian society itself. By Sarah Mersch
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Boualem Sansal's essay on IslamisationFighting Islamists with conspiracy theories
Bitter disappointment at the outcome of the Arab Spring oozes from every page of "Allahs Narren. Wie der Islamismus die Welt erobert" (Allah's Fools. How Islamism is Conquering the World) by the Algerian writer and winner of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade Boualem Sansal. Joseph Croitoru read the polemic work
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Three years after the Arab uprisingsTyranny has gone unpunished
The revolutions that swept across the Arab world in 2011 could have failed for any number of reasons. However, the fact that their consequences now threaten to drag entire nations into chaos and rehabilitate tyrannous rulers three years after they were unceremoniously ousted is almost worse than if there had been no uprisings in the first place. By Günther Orth
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Civil war in SyriaNo peace with Assad and al-Qaida
Bashar al-Assad is no bulwark against terrorism. On the contrary, he is a beneficiary of the Syrian conflict. As long as he continues to destroy his country, the jihadists will flourish in the chaos. Only his departure can unite Syrians in the fight against al-Qaida and bring peace to the nation, writes Kristin Helberg
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Interview with Hélé Béji"Ennahda has an unbelievable capacity to adjust"
Hélé Béji is an independent Tunisian writer and literary scholar. She is related to Habib Bourguiba, the founder of the Tunisian republic and its first president, and is part of a rather progressive intellectual scene. Béji has been watching the Islamists closely since they took power two years ago and is one of the few people who considers Ennahda capable of learning and becoming a major democratic people's party. Christina Omlin spoke to her about recent developments in Tunisia
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Tunisia three years after the Jasmine RevolutionLearning how to deal with freedom
Three years after the overthrow of President Ben Ali, Tunisians are still waiting for their new constitution. Quite a few empty promises have been made since 2011, but there has also been some progress. By Ute Schaeffer in Tunis
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Interview with Turkish theologian Ihsan EliacikThe Koran and social justice
Ihsan Eliacik is the first proponent of an "Islamic socialism" in Turkey. In his teachings, he criticises the neo-liberal policies of the AKP and calls for a socialist reading of the Koran. Interview by Ceyda Nurtsch
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Fighting in the Iraqi province of Anbar"Maliki is the new Saddam!"
The images coming out of the Iraqi province of Anbar shocked the world: masked fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were seen patrolling the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, waiting to take them over. Baghdad's central government seems to be losing its grip on the country's largest province. From Birgit Svensson in Fallujah
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Georges Corm on the conflicts in the Arab worldForget religion!
In his new book, the Lebanese historian Georges Corm criticises the tendency in the West to see the conflicts in the Arab world almost exclusively in a religious context. In reality, he says, the struggles in the states of the Arab Spring are for the fair distribution of economic power and democratic participation. By Kersten Knipp
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Tunisia and the European UnionLast chance
The Arab Spring seems to be over, but democracy could yet prevail in Tunisia. The EU should promise privileged trade relations on the condition that the country does not return to authoritarian rule. By Markus Loewe
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Turkey's corruption scandalNo light at the end of the tunnel
As the massive corruption investigation targeting allies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues, the Turkish prime minister has accused the judiciary of a conspiracy against his government. But what is behind these accusations? Ulrike Dufner has some answers
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Interview with Volker Perthes"It's time for a ceasefire"
Middle East expert Volker Perthes is calling for a ceasefire in the Syrian conflict to allow civil society to recover, which could in turn curb the growing influence of the Islamists. Diana Hodali spoke to him
Most read articles
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Gilbert Achcar on the impact of 9/11
"The Iraq War shattered the promise of a new world order"
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Sex tourism in Egypt
A bride for the summer
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Women in Saudi Arabia
Caught in a System of Gender Apartheid
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The German Islam Scholar Lamya Kaddor
Why I as a Muslim Woman Don't Wear a Headscarf
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Religious diversity in Tunisia
The Virgin Mary on the streets of Tunis
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Gender roles in the Arab world
'The idea of male dominance is in crisis'