Links 19 November - 21 December 2016

• How Egyptian ‘Democracy’ Really Works - The New York Times
  Evan Hill.
• Russia’s Rise in Mideast Creates Enemies
  Good piece by Yaroslav Trofimov.
• Signal Claims Egypt Is Blocking Access to Encrypted Messaging App | Motherboard
• Hazem Kandil: Sisi's Egypt. New Left Review 102, November-December 2016.
• What we know about the man Sisi named the St. Peter and St. Paul Church bomber
• Europeans greatly overestimate Muslim population, poll shows
• A Turbulent Time in Saudi-Egyptian Relations
  Alain Gresh.
• U.S. Blocks Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia Amid Concerns Over Yemen War
  Finally.
• The Making of Egypt's Presidents
  Interesting letter from Menufiya.
• Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House
• Sahara : le Polisario maintient la pression à Guerguerat - Le Desk
• Rentrer du djihad | Mediapart
  Interview avec David Thomson
• Turkey military purge has ‘degraded’ Nato, says general
• Egypt, China sign currency swap deal
  So Egypt can import from China in yuans rather than dollars.
• Islamic State loses its stronghold in Libya, but more chaos could soon follow - The Washington Post
• Russia, NATO, Trump: The Shadow World | by Robert Cottrell | The New York Review of Books
• Palestine: The End of the Bedouins? | by David Shulman | NYR Daily | The New York Review of Books
• The incredible story behind the Syrian protest singer everyone thought was dead
• Syria’s New Media Landscape | Middle East Institute
• Quick Thoughts: Mouin Rabbani on Aleppo and the Syria Conflict
• Yemen: US-Made Bombs Used in Unlawful Airstrikes | Human Rights Watch
• Advice for Young Muslims
  Letters by the UAE ambassador to Russia to his son.
• Welcome to the age of anger | Pankaj Mishra
• Saudis Are Trying to Figure Out How the Post-Oil Era Works
• Egypt: Laughter in the Dark | by Zadie Smith | NYR Daily
  On Ahmed Naji.
• Paris/Rakka, aller-retour : parcours de radicalisation
  Podcast featuring David Thomson and Farhad Khosrokhavar.
• An Egyptian court just struck down part of a repressive new law. Here’s what that means. - The Washington Post
  Brown and Hamzawi on the protest law ruling
• Jihadi Document Repository
  Useful collection by Norwegian scholars
• Le Palais rappelle à Benkirane les véritables limites de son pouvoir - Le Desk
  Morocco PM, usually silent on foreign policy, slams Russia over Syria and gets slammed back by palace.
• Discontent grows louder in Ethiopia as regime fights for survival
  Major potential impact downriver.
• How the War Ends in Syria - NYT
  Poor piece by Galbraith, starting w/ assumption it will end.
• Slavoj Zizek on a 'clash of civilisations' - UpFront
  Rather combative. Good for Zizek to be called on his provocations.
• Mixed rulings for protest law by Egypt constitutional court
  Bad news.
• Another Arab awakening is looming, warns a UN report | The Economist
• The End of the Anglo-American Order
  Ian Buruma
• How Stable Are Democracies? ‘Warning Signs Are Flashing Red’
  New research tries to spot the collapse of liberal democracies before they happen, and it suggests that Western democracy may be seriously ill.
• Trump Tracker
• Honeymoon is over for new Saudi leader as reform pain kicks in
• Au Maroc, la disparition des écoles publiques accélère la marchandisation de l’éducation
• Libya's government faces forced currency devaluation | World news | The Guardian