The New America Foundation welcomed Ashraf Khalil for the launch of his new book, Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation. Foreign Policy listed Liberation Square first in its 21 books to read in 2012. Publisher's Weekly says, "Khalil’s account is essential reading, evoking the urgency and vitality of the Arab spring’s Egyptian chapter."

Egypt’s first parliamentary elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak began on November 28th. The vote for the People's Assembly will stretch over six weeks into January 2012.
 
An outpouring of enthusiastic voters has for the moment raised a note of optimism in Egypt. Yet following days of mass protest over the military's continued rule, state violence, and deepening political and social polarization, it appears that Egypt's transition will be long and rocky.
 

In the first open elections in the Arab world since this year’s uprisings rocked the region, Tunisians went to the polls in very high numbers to elect a National Constituent Assembly on Sunday, October 23rd. This was a historic moment, not only for Tunisia but for the entire region. As Tunisia entered the next stage of its democratic transition, the New America Foundation and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) co-hosted a discussion examining the outcomes of these critical elections as well as exploring the challenges for Tunisia and its international partners.

In October 2011, the New America Foundation's American Strategy Program convened a public affairs meeting to mark the release of a major new work, Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, by America’s premier China expert, Ezra Vogel.