A Timeline of Arab Rapprochement

By Ibrahim Elzayat /

A blockade of Qatar is lifted after Arabs mend fences and resume diplomatic ties.

2020: The Year We Stayed Away

December 2020

Social distancing, wearing masks, scavenging for toilet paper while spraying disinfectant everywhere: what kind of year was this? A tragic one for many, but we end with a hope for vaccine somewhat realized.

Social Media Stands as the First Draft of History

By Sean David Hobbs / December 12, 2020

As fake news and reality collide, what impact is the current media and political climate having on the initial outline of U.S. contemporary history?

Will the U.S. Evolve its Foreign Policy from Past Mistakes?

/ Fall 2020

Former U.S. Ambassador and American University in Cairo President Francis Ricciardone evaluates how the United States has dealt with global crises in the 21st century.

Explaining How Washington and the Election Works

By Sean David Hobbs / Fall 2020

In 2016, all predictions about the U.S. elections were wrong. Will Washington insiders get it right this time?

Resisting the Tide of Bigotry

By Jonathan Weisman / Fall 2020

American Jews are left divided and looking for new directions as Donald Trump embraces the white supremacism of the alt-right and the Zionism of Benjamin Netanyahu

The World Is Watching the United States

By Diana Bartelli Carlin / Fall 2020

The United States is facing a perfect storm that puts it in the headlights of its counterparts’ world views.

The Viral Quotient: How Arab Media Responded to COVID-19

By Lobna Khairy and Sarah El-Shaarawi /

From social media to government narratives, the audience was bombarded with a plethora of information, some of which was confusing and contradictory.

How to Deal with COVID-19 in Africa

By Arnaud Oulepo and Carl Manlan /

Strengthening the capacity, the data networks, and the community response to win against COVID-19.

Deconstructing Fukuyama

By Ibrahim Awad / Spring 2020

Taking apart the arguments of division that underscore the populist movements emerging in today’s liberal democracies

The U.S. Pandemic Response: The Challenge of Competing Narratives

By Diana Bartelli Carlin /

The American people lose out to contradictory official messages during a crisis that has been framed within the 2020 presidential election.

Mustafa Amin’s Legacy Revived

By Basant Samhout / Spring 2020

Mustafa Amin was a touchstone for a generation of journalists who valued a freer and more truthful school of journalism. His recently donated private library offers a rare glimpse into his professional life.

A Message From The Editors

By The Editors /

Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Connecting to the U.S. Electorate

By Sydney Wise / March 9, 2020

Diana Carlin, leader in the field of U.S. political communication, speaks with the Cairo Review’s Assistant Editor Sydney Wise.

Meme-ifying “World War III”

By Audrey Lodes and Sydney Wise / February 26, 2020

How the Soleimani assassination has called into question what “war” means today and how the world should respond

Hosni Mubarak: Passing of an Era, or Lingering Legacy?

By Tarek Osman / February 25, 2020

What Mubarak’s legacy reveals about changes in different generations’ relationship to state and society.

Brexit Reveals a Damaged Democracy

By Russell Merryman / February 10, 2020

The drunken celebrations in Parliament Square as the UK broke from the European Union provide an apt metaphor for the whole affair.

The End for Netanyahu?

By Dan Perry / September 19, 2019

After a murky election Netanyahu might be out and Gantz might be in, but it is Lieberman who is set to be kingmaker.

A New Beginning for Yemen?

By Karim Haggag / November 17, 2018

The strategic role of the United States—and others—in finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Yemen.

Perceptions from Abroad

By Nabil Fahmy / Fall 2018

How to fight foreign perceptions that the Arab World is violent and in complete turmoil

Death of the Blogosphere

By Elizabeth Lepro / Winter 2018

Egyptian bloggers, writing and reporting on the January 25 uprising, suddenly went offline after 2015. Why and where are they now?

Oriental Hall, etc.

By Leslie Cohen / Winter 2018

Happenings, speakers, and events at the American University in Cairo in Winter 2018.

Oriental Hall, etc.

By Elena Habersky and Jessie Steinhauer / Fall 2017

Happenings, speakers, and events at the American University in Cairo in Fall 2017.

On Syria, This Is Fantasy Sports Season in the United States

By Rami G. Khouri / October 7, 2016

Why I see the public debate about Syria in the United States today as infantile.

The Battle over Arab Public Space and Ideas

By Rami G. Khouri / May 7, 2016

One of the most significant battles taking place these days in the Arab region is about how wide or narrow is the public space available for citizens to express themselves and offer views that differ from or challenge the state.

From Beirut to Paris, the Same Right to Live

By Chloé Benoist / November 18, 2015

The terrorist attacks in Paris have unleashed a wave of international solidarity. But what about when a bomb goes off in Beirut, Baghdad, or Ankara? Shouldn’t we mourn those victims, too?

Éric Rouleau, Ambassador of the World

By Alain Gresh / October 11, 2015

No other journalist was as influential in France or the rest of the world as Éric Rouleau. No one contributed to changing the Western vision of the complicated east, better yet, to making it understood, as much as he did.

Egyptian Reporters Reloaded

By Amir-Hussein Radjy / Summer 2015

Mada Masr, a progressive online news organization, is pushing against the shrinking space for political debate.

Death of the Newsroom?

By Christopher B. Daly / Winter 2015

It’s commonplace to hear that the Internet is the end of great newspapers and broadcasters. Reflect on this: media empires were crumbling long before the World Wide Web came along.

Watchdogs Unleashed

By Brant Houston / Winter 2015

Investigative journalism seemed doomed when the collapse of the traditional business model saw newspapers cutting staff and even closing down. But digital technology is giving determined reporters new opportunities to dig up stories and publish them.

Dangerous Occupation

By Joel Simon / Winter 2015

Digital technology is enabling the spread of news and information across borders and around the world on an unprecedented scale. Yet, the challenges and risks facing professional journalists have never been greater. The executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists tells the story.

“People Need Tools”

By Walter Isaacson / Fall 2011

Biz Stone and Evan Williams changed the way our world talks to itself when they co-founded Twitter five years ago. They spoke with Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson about the future of the Internet.