Encina Hall
616 Serra Street, C145
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

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ARD Postdoctoral Fellow
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Amr Adly has a Ph.D. from the European University Institute-Florence, Department of political and social sciences (Date of completion: September 2010). His thesis topic was "The political economy of trade and industrialization in the post-liberalization period: Cases of Turkey and Egypt". The thesis was published by Routledge in December 2012 under the title of State Reform and Development in the Middle East: The Cases of Turkey and Egypt.

He has several other academic publications that have appeared in the Journal of Business and Politics, Turkish Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies, in addition to articles in several other periodicals and newspapers in English and Arabic. 

Before joining Stanford, he worked as a senior researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, heading the unit of social and economic rights, and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat.

At Stanford, he is leading a research project on reforming the regulatory environment governing entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia, which will result in policy papers as well as conferences in the two countries.

CV
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This event is co-sponsored by the Arab Studies Table

Abstract:

Ahmed Benchemsi, a Stanford visiting scholar and award-winning Moroccan journalist, will introduce "FreeArabs.com". The new media outlet aims to provide the Arab Spring secular generation with a global platform, a digital haven for speaking out, building ties and developing a strong network. Under the editorial line "Democracy, Secularism, Fun" and with a newsy and arty activist tone, Free Arabs will expose corruption and authoritarianism in the Middle East, invoke genuine democracy as a challenge to Islamists, and fight to restore the real meaning of secularism (ie, freedom of choice) in a region where this word has long been demonized by both oppressive governments and religious zealots.

Speaker Bio:

Ahmed Benchemsi is a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. His focus is on "The seeds of secularism in the post-Spring Arab world".

Before joining Stanford, Ahmed was the publisher and editor of Morocco's two best-selling newsweeklies TelQuel (French) and Nishan (Arabic), which he founded in 2001 and 2006, respectively. Covering politics, business, society and the arts, Ahmed's magazines were repeatedly cited by major media such as CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and more, as strong advocates of democracy and secularism in the Middle East and North Africa.

Ahmed received awards from the European Union and Lebanon's Samir Kassir Foundation, notably for his work on the "Cult of personality" surrounding Morocco's King. He also published op-eds in Le Monde and Newsweek where he completed fellowships.

Ahmed received his M.Phil in Political Science in 1998 from Paris' Institut d'Etudes Politiques (aka "Sciences Po"), his M.A in Development Economics in 1995 from La Sorbonne, and his B.A in Finance in 1994 from Paris VIII University.

 

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Encina Ground Floor Conference Room

CDDRL
616 Serra Street
Encina Hall
Stanford, CA 94305

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Visiting Scholar Program on Arab Reform and Democracy
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MPhil

Ahmed Benchemsi is a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. His focus is on the democratic grassroots movement that recently burgeoned in Morocco, as in Tunisia and Egypt. Ahmed researches how and under what circumstances a handful of young Facebook activists managed to infuse democratic spirit which eventually inspired hundreds of thousands, leading them to hit the streets in massive protests. He investigates whether this actual trend will pave the way for genuine democratic reform or for the traditional political system's reconfiguration around a new balance of powers - or both.  

Before joining Stanford, Ahmed was the publisher and editor of Morocco's two best-selling newsweeklies TelQuel (French) and Nishan (Arabic), which he founded in 2001 and 2006, respectively. Covering politics, business, society and the arts, Ahmed's magazines were repeatedly cited by major media such as CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and more, as strong advocates of democracy and secularism in the Middle East and North Africa.

Ahmed received awards from the European Union and Lebanon's Samir Kassir Foundation, notably for his work on the "Cult of personality" surrounding Morocco's King. He also published op-eds in Le Monde and Newsweek where he completed fellowships.

Ahmed received his M.Phil in Political Science in 1998 from Paris' Institut d'Etudes Politiques (aka "Sciences Po"), his M.A in Development Economics in 1995 from La Sorbonne, and his B.A in Finance in 1994 from Paris VIII University.

Ahmed Benchemsi Visiting Scholar and award-winning Moroccon journalist Speaker Stanford University
Seminars

The fourth annual conference of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD) organized in collaboration with the University of Tunis, El Manar and the Centre d'études maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT), took place in Tunis on March 28 and 29, 2013. The conference theme 'Building Bridges: Towards Viable Democracies in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya' examines the cornerstones of democratic transition in those countries.

The conference engaged leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from all three countries, as well as international experts, to reflect on the process of democratization in those countries from a comparative perspective. The key issues the conference addressed are:

  • Constitution drafting
  • National dialogues and civil society
  • Political coalitions and Islamism
  • Political participation and pluralism
  • Economic policy
  • Arab relations with the USA and Europe

The conference agenda and report are available for download from the links below.

 

Sheraton Hotel, Tunis, Tunisia

Conferences
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Larry Diamond
Larry Diamond
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This book originated in a conference on "Liberation Technology in Authoritarian Regimes" held at Stanford University in Oct. 2010. 

The revolutions sweeping the Middle East provide dramatic evidence of the role that technology plays in mobilizing citizen protest and upending seemingly invulnerable authoritarian regimes. A grainy cell phone video of a Tunisian street vendor’s self-immolation helped spark the massive protests that toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Egypt’s "Facebook revolution" forced the ruling regime out of power and into exile.

While such "liberation technology" has been instrumental in freeing Egypt and Tunisia, other cases—such as China and Iran—demonstrate that it can be deployed just as effectively by authoritarian regimes seeking to control the Internet, stifle protest, and target dissenters. This two-sided dynamic has set off an intense technological race between "netizens" demanding freedom and authoritarians determined to retain their grip on power.

Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of "liberation" versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.

This book also includes in-depth analysis of specific technologies such as Ushahidi—a platform developed to document human-rights abuses in the wake of Kenya’s 2007 elections—and alkasir—a tool that has been used widely throughout the Middle East to circumvent cyber-censorship.

Liberation Technology will prove an essential resource for all students seeking to understand the intersection of information and communications technology and the global struggle for democracy.

Contributors: Walid Al-Saqaf, Daniel Calingaert, Ronald Deibert, Larry Diamond, Elham Gheytanchi, Philip N. Howard, Muzammil M. Hussain, Rebecca MacKinnon, Patrick Meier, Evgeny Morozov, Xiao Qiang, Rafal Rohozinski, Mehdi Yahyanejad

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Lina Khatib
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The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD) at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, a center within the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, seeks a full-time researcher to manage and coordinate all operations of the Arab Reform and Democracy project, “Entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring”. This is an exciting opportunity for an emerging scholar to be involved with an active research program producing timely policy-relevant research, and to engage in on-the-ground work in the Arab world.

The position is half-time research and half-time project management. In the former, the candidate will be a research scholar at CDDRL, and in that capacity will conduct academic research and writing relevant to the themes of the ARD program, while also participating broadly in the intellectual life of the Center. The post would be most suitable for an expert on entrepreneurship, particularly the legal and regulatory framework and the policy environment governing entrepreneurship in the Arab world, who must also be familiar with the political economies and the civil society landscape of Tunisia and Egypt specifically, and the Arab world generally.

Working under and reporting to the ARD Program Manager, duties of the position include the following: 

* Create, design, and implement research methodologies for the project
* Conduct background research on entrepreneurship policy and economic reform
* Lead fieldwork, including interviews, surveys, and focus groups in the Arab world
* Research, identify topics and focus to implement workshops with experts and stakeholders in the Arab world
* Define topics for, write and prepare first author and co-authored working papers, policy papers, op-eds, and other analysis pieces
* Coordinate communication with the project advisory board
* Oversee, extend, improve and manage the content and functionality of the Program’s website; write and solicit content for the website; ensure information on website is current, accurate, professional, and widely accessible; stimulate use of the project website
* Perform wider ARD research and administrative tasks as appropriate


QUALIFICATIONS:

* Extensive knowledge of economic policy and civil society in Egypt and Tunisia, particularly in relation to entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, as well as of the role of international actors in this context
* Extensive research experience in survey design, both qualitative and quantitative, as well as in running focus groups and conducting field interviews
* Excellent organizational and communication skills
* Fluency in English and Arabic (spoken and written); (working ability in French is also desirable)
* Willingness and ability to travel extensively to the Arab world (mainly Egypt and Tunisia)
* Excellent leadership skills and the ability to be pro-active and creative and to work independently
* Excellent problem-solving and multitasking skills
* MA in political economy, international relations, development, economics, political science, or a relevant social science required, PhD desired. 
* Minimum of 3 to 5 years of related research experience required (includes PhD work).

The position is available for a period of one year, starting January 2013.

The deadline to apply is Nov. 9, 2012.

For consideration please submit resume and cover letter.

Academic/policy writing samples will be required from all shortlisted candidates.

Background check will be required for all final candidates.

 

To apply, please visit our job site through the link below and search for position number 50232.

For queries about this post, please email ARD Program Manager Dr. Lina Khatib:lkhatib@stanford.edu


Apply Now
 

     

 

                         

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CDDRL
Encina Hall, C139
616 Serra Street
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

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Adi Greif is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Yale University and a pre-doc at CDDRL from 2013-2015. Her dissertation, "The Long-Term Impact of Colonization on Gender", investigates why gender equality varies by former colonizer (French or British) in the Middle East and globally. It uses cross-national statistics, a regression discontinuity across the former colonial border in Cameroon, and interviews from Egypt and Jordan. Her research abroad was supported by a Macmillan Dissertation Fellowship.

Adi's research interests are colonialism, international alliances, state formation and comparative gender policies with focus on the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. She has lived in Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, and visited Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. Adi holds an M.A. in Political Science from (Yale University) and a B.A with honors in Political Science and a minor in Math (Stanford University). Before coming to Yale, she worked at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. through the Tom Ford Fellowship in Philanthropy.

CDDRL Postdoctoral Fellow, 2015; CDDRL Pre-doctoral Fellow, 2013-2014
Paragraphs

This book originated in a conference on "Liberation Technology in Authoritarian Regimes" held at Stanford University in Oct. 2010. 

The revolutions sweeping the Middle East provide dramatic evidence of the role that technology plays in mobilizing citizen protest and upending seemingly invulnerable authoritarian regimes. A grainy cell phone video of a Tunisian street vendor’s self-immolation helped spark the massive protests that toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Egypt’s "Facebook revolution" forced the ruling regime out of power and into exile.

While such "liberation technology" has been instrumental in freeing Egypt and Tunisia, other cases—such as China and Iran—demonstrate that it can be deployed just as effectively by authoritarian regimes seeking to control the Internet, stifle protest, and target dissenters. This two-sided dynamic has set off an intense technological race between "netizens" demanding freedom and authoritarians determined to retain their grip on power.

Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of "liberation" versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.

This book also includes in-depth analysis of specific technologies such as Ushahidi—a platform developed to document human-rights abuses in the wake of Kenya’s 2007 elections—and alkasir—a tool that has been used widely throughout the Middle East to circumvent cyber-censorship.

Liberation Technology will prove an essential resource for all students seeking to understand the intersection of information and communications technology and the global struggle for democracy.

Contributors: Walid Al-Saqaf, Daniel Calingaert, Ronald Deibert, Larry Diamond, Elham Gheytanchi, Philip N. Howard, Muzammil M. Hussain, Rebecca MacKinnon, Patrick Meier, Evgeny Morozov, Xiao Qiang, Rafal Rohozinski, Mehdi Yahyanejad

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The Johns Hopkins University Press
Authors
Larry Diamond
Larry Diamond
Marc F. Plattner
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978-1421405681
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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.

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BDC-Stanford Project on Arab Transitions
Authors
Ellen Lust
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