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Album review: Misagh Joolaee's "Unknown Nearness"

Silent yearnings

Produced during the coronavirus pandemic, Misagh Joolaee's latest album returns to the most concentrated expression of the kamancheh – solo performance. Plumbing spiritual depths whilst exploring new virtuoso techniques, "Unknown Nearness" traces an arc between Persian tradition and enigmatic echoes of Western music. By Stefan Franzen
Album review: Tartitʹs "Amankor/The Exile"

Lapping at your consciousness

With "Amankor/The Exile", the Kel Tamashek band Tartit have produced another cultural treasure for the rest of the world to appreciate. Their original intent may have been to keep their own culture alive, but in the process they have succeeded in bringing the sound of the desert into all our lives. By Richard Marcus
Revenge is not the answer!

Prosecuting tyranny in the Arab world

In the wake of the Arab Spring, not one Arab dictator has faced charges for creating a police state and inducing terror among citizens. Similarly, none has been prosecuted for destroying state institutions, the essentials of citizenship, or the means of social advancement. Analysis by Shafiq Nazim Ghabra
Mass anti-president protests in Algeria

No more Bouteflika!

Demonstrations against the controversial presidential candidacy of ailing Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika are snowballing into a mass nationwide protest movement. The end of his clan's regency is only a matter of time. Sofian Philip Naceur reports from Algeria
Alsatoor, Libya′s caricaturist

The pen is mightier

Since the 1970s, the Libyan Hasan Dhaimish, aka Alsatoor, has furnished a mostly Arabic public with daringly acerbic political observations about his former homeland. His son, Sherif Dhaimish, looks back over his long career – a career that is far from over
After the ousting of Omar al-Bashir

Sudan holding out for real change

The political future of Sudan must now be hammered out from a precarious starting point. Demonstrators in Khartoum cannot instigate a new beginning without the old institutions; and the transition from toppled dictator to his former military allies will not be seamless. By Karim El-Gawhary
No stability without opposition

The Maghrebʹs untenable status quo

As it seeks to support "stability" in North Africa, the international community needs to think less about strong states and more about strong opposition, says Max Gallien
Algeria in transition

Time's up, Bouteflika!

He was brought in by the generals to save the regime, instead he ousted them one after the other. But Bouteflika was no democrat. He had come to rule for life and be buried as President. Now his own people appear to be de-railing those plans. By Bachir Amroune
Civil society and democratic transition in Algeria

Algerian activists demand a place at the table

On 15 June, Algiers hosted a National Conference of Civil Society with the aim of producing a roadmap on how to shape the countryʹs – hopefully – democratic future. Yet at a time when civil society is just beginning to re-awaken, some wonder whether it will really be able to influence the possible transition that is looming. By Nourredine Bessadi
Arab Spring 2.0

The Middle East's fearless protesters

The upheavals of the past year in the MENA region are arguably as momentous as those of the Arab Spring in 2011. Yet perhaps the biggest difference is that our interest seems to have evaporated. Why? Essay by Jannis Hagmann