Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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A giant Algerian flag hangs on the wall behind supporters of Algerian former premier and candidate for the presidential election Ali Benflis on March 24, 2014, in Blida, Algeria. (AFP Photo/Farouk Batiche)

Debate: Sectarianism in Algeria is a minor problem

by Nabila Ramdani | May 29, 2014 | Debate

Anybody who has seen Algerians celebrating a national triumph, whether it be the anniversary of their military victory over French colonizers or a simple international sporting success, will be left in no doubt about their patriotism. This is as true for the...

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File photo of Algerian protesters chanting slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, on February 12, 2011. (Reuters)

Debate: Sectarian tension in Algeria is a serious problem

by Kamel Abdallah | May 29, 2014 | Debate

Ethnic and sectarian conflicts represent a real challenge to Algeria’s stability, as they adversely affect the unity and cohesion of the country’s national fabric. This is principally due to the fact that such conflicts are classified, in most cases, as protracted...

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A ballot box sits on a table next to the national flag at the Lebanese Parliament in the capital Beirut on April 22, 2014 ahead of the country’s presidential election. (AFP Photo/STR)

Debate: Lebanon’s president will be chosen from abroad

by Mohamed Ali Muqalled | May 24, 2014 | Debate

There is a critical difference between a president representing his constituency and a president ruling in the name of his constituency. The former is a healthy system. The only place the president is elected with 100 percent of the vote is a totalitarian regime. In a...

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Lebanese members of parliament gather to elect a new president in downtown Beirut on Wednesday, April 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Joseph Eid, Pool)

Debate: Lebanon’s president will be chosen from within

by Ibrahim Bayram | May 24, 2014 | Debate

In the Lebanese political scene, a president who belongs to a particular political party is not, of course, a “consensus” president. This term, which a well-known part of the Lebanese political vernacular, indicates a president without affiliations to any of the three...

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A man rides his motor bike past a large election campaign banner showing Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki (R) along a street in the central Shiite Muslim shrine city of Karbala, on April 6, 2014. (AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED SAWAF)

Debate: A third Maliki premiership would be disastrous for Iraq

by Samir Shakir Sumaydee | May 18, 2014 | Debate

Iraq is a devastated country whose people are exhausted. The country was destroyed by its leader, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, who is ignorant and backwards. He tightened his grip on the country and made a mockery of everything in order to maintain his stranglehold....

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A man walks past an election campaign poster of Mohammed Abed Al-Kazem Aqeeli (C) of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition in Baghdad April 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Ahmed Saad)

Debate: A third Maliki premiership would not necessarily spell disaster for Iraq

by Amin Hattit | May 18, 2014 | Debate

As in the previous Iraqi elections, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki was the strongest contender this time around, with a vast distance reportedly opening up between him and his opponents. Sectarian, ethnic and religious divisions have allowed Shi’ites the right to head...