Arab Reform Initiative

Reform Watch

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Spotlight

Palestinian Reconciliation is Delayed and Tied to the Fate of Negotiations 10 November 2010 , by Hani al Masri
Procedural issues are overwhelming the Egyptian document for Palestinian national reconciliation. The document disregarded the content of the National Charter and the political programme of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the government...
“Has Arab Business Ever Been, or Will it Be, a Player for Reform?” 20 October 2010 , by Giacomo Luciani , Steffen Hertog
The project has examined to what extent the private sector is influencing the reform process in the Arab world, looking in particular at the sector’s independence; its relationship to the ruling authority; its ability to organize and lobby...
Nadia Yassine, Leader in the Moroccan Justice and Spirituality Organisation: "Our real crisis is a crisis of the elites, and reform begins in the field of education." 27 October 2010
“The will to create ignorance is closely related to forcible, coercive governance, which has an interest to produce subjects whom it is easier to herd like sheep than to educate and train as citizens aware of their responsibility towards their society and their country..."
Toujan Faisal, the First Woman to be Elected to the Jordanian Parliament in 1993: "Political reform is the key, and women in the public sphere are citizens, not More." 27 October 2010
“I am opposed to all forms of quota, because quotas are in conflict with full equality between citizens. What happens is that the allocation of a quota for women, or projects for women, helps unqualified women to come to the fore..."
The Copts of Egypt: Specific Problems and General Tension 13 October 2010 , by Sameh Fawzi
Muslim-Christian relations are beset by escalating tensions comprising new dimensions that threaten the Egyptian model of coexistence and unity. There are many reasons for this deteriorating situation...

Recent Publications

Corruption in Jordan: It’s the Mechanisms, Not Manifestations, that Matter 23 June 2010 , by Sufian Obaidat
In Jordan, a network of laws is in place that acts to entrench corruption. A complex, interlinked system, this network of laws undermines the oversight of the judiciary and the overarching constitutional and legal norms that safeguard the rule of law.
The Disintegration of Somalia: Will the Logic of Crisis Management Continue? 14 April 2010 , by Mohammed Omar Ahmed
Somalia was left to its fate, or so it seemed, until it was necessary to deal with the external consequences of conditions within the country, specifically piracy and the consolidation of terrorist organisations. Hence the global dimension of the Somali crisis has come to the fore.
The State of Reform in the Arab World 2009-2010 (Annual Report) 29 March 2010
Arab world at threshold of democracy, however a long road to implementation lies ahead, says Arab Reform Initiative.

Reform Watch

Violence hits Jordanian Election 9 November 2010

One person is killed and several others injured as fighting between rival tribal groups breaks out amid vote.

Egypt: Cabinet Presence on NDP Official Candidate List Provokes Debate 8 November 2010 , by Dina Bishara

Lebanon: Southerners Take to Streets over Escalating Prices 6 November 2010 , by Mohammed Zaatari

Egypt: Minimum Wage Mania 4 November 2010 , by Niveen Wahish

Probe US Abuses in Iraq 4 November 2010 , by Mohammad Akef Jamal

Events

2011 Draper Hills Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program 20 October 2010

The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies invites emerging political, civil society, and business leaders from transitional countries to apply to participate in its seventh annual Draper Hills (...)