Combating voter apathy in the 21st century: Roundtable discussion with Sisi and Assad

The recent European elections highlighted the problems facing democratic systems today as a result of declining voter participation and political apathy. In order to explore solutions for this problem, we organised a roundtable discussion with two of the leading figures in encouraging voter participation, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. Both men have organised presidential elections that they are going to win, and have resorted to innovative methods to encourage voting.

Five Maps And Charts That Explain The White Saviour Complex

 Five Maps And Charts That Explain The White Saviour Complex. Click on the images to zoom.

Exhibition of Sisi's child drawings reveals early genius

An exhibition of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's drawings as a child opened in Cairo recently, revealing a sensitive and artistic side to the man expected to win the next Egyptian presidential elections.

Middle East Week Podcast on Presidential Elections in Lebanon

This week I did Middle East Week Podcast with the host Karl Morand, we discussed the presidential election in Lebanon and wider prospects for the country. You can listen to it here.

Lebanese Politician Inaction Figures

Lebanese politician inaction figures. They don't do anything but they last for a very long time.

The Alternative Guide To Lebanon

Lebanon, a small Mediterranean country, has been in the news this past week following the revelation that the actor George Clooney got engaged to Amal Alamuddin, a British woman of Lebanese descent.

Stapler Accidentally Elected President of Lebanon

In an unusual development, a stapler has been accidentally elected President of Lebanon today. The stapler was placed on the desk of the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berry during today's voting session, and it attracted the attention of several MPs due to its unusual design. Some of the MPs decided to jokingly vote for the stapler instead of casting blank ballots which was their original plan, but when the votes were counted it was discovered that the stapler had received enough votes to win the election. After hurriedly consulting the rule books, the Speaker could not find any reasons to disqualify the stapler so he had to announce it as the new President of Lebanon.