May 21, 2012

Democracy's Growing Pains

As Egyptians prepare to vote in the first presidential election since the end of Hosni Mubarak’s regime, the old aphorism comes to mind: “Every nation has the government it deserves.” Egypt seems to be getting the presidential election it deserves—one reflecting the social and institutional weaknesses that have plagued the country for too long. There is confusion, suspicion, polarization. Conspiracy theories abound. And there is the mounting anxiety over the economy and public security. Increasingly, it seems, nervous citizens are pining for the stability—or at least the predictability—of Mubarak’s three decades in power.

Essay
Knowledge Without Borders
Michael M. Crow, William B. Dabars

American research universities are the envy of the world, but they must adapt if they are to create kno wledge that responds to the ‘grand challenges’ of our epoch. Only an amalgamation of transdisciplinary, transinstitutional, and transnational frameworks has the potential to advance broader social and economic outcomes.

Essay
Quest for Water
Farouk El-Baz

The Middle East is among the driest areas on Earth. Actually, it has plenty of water but much of it lies underground and unexplored. Go vernments in the region must undertake serious efforts to map ground water basins and aquifers and develop regulations for their use.

Essay
India's Nuclear Power Problem
Monamie Bhadra

The Indian government launched an ambitious plan to expand atomic energy output seven-fold by the year 2022. But a surprising grassroots movement has sprung up to challenge the program. Rather than focusing on worries about cataclysmic accidents, it is emphasizing citizen rights and government accountability.

Q&A
The Cairo Review Interview: To Mars and Beyond
Cairo Review

Charles Elachi, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, leads an institution long in the forefront of man’s exploration of the universe. He speaks with Managing Editor Scott MacLeod about his upcoming search for life on Mars, the future of the U.S. space program, the need for investment in Middle East education, and what happens when a space explorer and an actor from Star Trek have dinner together.