The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy Publications

Ongoing upheaval in Egypt and Tunisia since the 2011 revolutions indicates high levels of dissatisfaction with the political order, and expresses a deep desire for a drastic remodeling of the economic system. Well-educated young men and women still find themselves marginalized and excluded from the political and economic order in their countries. Their initial demands for freedom and social justice have hitherto gone unheeded.

Why has private entrepreneurship in Egypt and Tunisia remained underdeveloped despite decades of economic liberalization and private sector-friendly incentives and reforms? And how can the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the two countries develop in order to meet the people’s high expectations of having a productive and just socio-economic order? These are the research questions that will be addressed by the CIPE/Stanford upcoming joint report "Reforming entrepreneurship ecosystems in post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia.

This paper offers a close analysis of the key challenges facing the foreign aid sector in Yemen, and presents recommendations to the government of Yemen and the international donor community to make aid to Yemen more effective.

This paper addresses the future of the political representation of minorities in Syria following the 2011 uprising and the ensuing period of unrest.

This paper addresses electoral reform in Yemen in the transitional period following the 2011 uprising.

This paper addresses the role of women in the political process in Yemen during the transitional period following the 2011 revolution.

This short paper addresses the relationship between sectarianism and political participation in Iraq.

This paper addresses the position of Copts in Egypt during the transition period in 2013.

This paper reviews the process of security sector reform taking place in Yemen during the transitional period after the 2011 uprising.

A paper released by CDDRL Arab Reform and Democracy Program Manager, Lina Khatib addresses the challenges and opportunities for political participation  in Tunisia and Egypt post-Arab Spring. Published in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Khatib argues that while there are challenges following the democratic transitions a new opening for political parties and civil society in the Arab world is in the making.

Qatar has become an Arab country with a high international profile and an ambitious foreign policy, particularly as a result of its role in the Arab Spring. It has cultivated a reputation as a political mediator and a key source of foreign aid. Following the Libyan uprising, Qatar demonstrated further political adaptability in leading regional action against the Gaddafi regime.

تقدم  أول انتخابات بعد سقوط الأنظمة السلطوية فرصة مهمة للجهات الفاعلة على الصعيدين المحلي والدولي لتعزيز العمليات الانتقالية. تبحث هذه الورقة أفضل السبل لدعم الممارسات الديمقراطية في الانتخابات القادمة، بناء على الدروس التي قدمتها تجربتا مصر وتونس.

 تعلق هذه الورقة على التحديات والفرص التي تواجه ريادة الأعمال الاجتماعية في العالم العربي بعد الربيع العربي، مع توصيات  السياسة العامة لتنمية المجتمع. وتحلل الورقة النتائج التي توصلت إليها 

 تم إصدار أول ورقة بحثية ضمن "مشروع مركز بروكنجز الدوحة و جامعة ستانفورد للتحولات لعربية"  للدكتور/ تامر مصطفى - الباحث بجامعة سيمون فريزر بكندا، وهي بعنوان: "صياغة دستور مصر: هل يمكن لاطار قانوني أن يعيد إحياء عملية الانتقال؟" من خلال التركيز على الحالة المصرية، يلقي الدكتور/ تامر مصطفى  الضوء على بعض القصور الذي شاب عملية صياغة الدستور في مصر وذلك لتقديم الدروس المستفادة من هذه الحالة إلى الدول العربية الأخرى التى على وشك البدء في عملية صياغة الدستور.

This white paper comments on the challenges and opportunities facing social entrepreneurship in the Arab world after the Arab Spring, with policy recommendations for the development community. The paper analyzes findings by an online survey conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj in December 2011-January 2012 and with over 12,000 respondents from across the Arab region.

Focusing on Iran in 2009 and Egypt in 2011, this paper examines the role of the coercive apparatus in responding to crises triggered by mass anti-regime protest. We argue that the divergent outcomes of the two crises – authoritarian resilience in Iran and regime breakdown in Egypt – can be traced to the regimes’ distinct origins.

“Democracy, Political Parties and Reform: A Review of Public Opinion in Yemen,” by Chris Miller, Hafez al-Bukari and Olga Aymerich provides a rare glimpse into Yemeni public opinion. The survey data presented in the paper paints a picture of a population that is overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic about democracy as a mode of governance. At the same time, it highlights a lack of knowledge of basic electoral rights as well as options for institutional change.

Image Politics in the Middle East: The Role of the Visual in Political Struggle (IB Tauris 2012) examines the power struggles among states, other political actors, and citizens in the region that are expressed through visuals, and presented through case studies from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Libya, and Iran, with a focus on the role of the image as a political tool in the Arab Spring.

The Ta’if Accords, which ended Lebanon’s civil war, called explicitly for the dismantling of political confessionalism through the election of a Chamber of Deputies on “a national, non-confessional basis” and the formation of a Senate representing all of Lebanon’s various sects. Lebanese leaders from across the ideological and confessional spectrum have declared their support for this idea, and it is routinely raised whenever questions of institutional reform and “de-confessionalism” are discussed.