Despite recent gains, regional growth remains too low and the benefits are shared by too few. Average incomes are stagnant, and poverty is rising in areas of conflict. Frustration runs high over the lack of job opportunities and access to affordable, high-quality public services. The call during the 2014 Amman Conference1 to generate robust growth, create jobs, provide equal opportunities,…
Arab Barometer
Le FMI pointe du doigt la montée des “frustrations”
…“Les citoyens de la région s’inquiètent du fait que les opportunités et l’accès aux services publics ne sont pas les mêmes pour tous”, note le FMI. D’après l’enquête “Arab Barometer”, effectuée pour la période 2012-2014 dans 12 pays dont l’Algérie, 70% des citoyens estiment que “les efforts gouvernementaux pour réduire l’écart entre les riches et les pauvres sont peu, voire…
Is EGYPT becoming a SECULAR country?
With over 95 million inhabitants, Egypt is the biggest country in the Arab world. In 2011, thousands of people protested for days to overthrow HOSNI MUBARAK, the dictator who ruled the country back then. A year later, the Muslim Brotherhood gained power, ready to turn the country of the pyramids into an Islamist Republic. But now, in 2017, Egyptian politics…
Implicit Attitudes Toward an Authoritarian Regime
Existing research on public opinion under authoritarianism focuses on the deliberative half of cognition. Yet in psychology, implicit attitudes and subconscious associations are often viewed as foundational, the basis for explicit attitudes and behavior. This paper adapts the well-known Implicit Association Test (IAT) to study Egyptian citizens’ attitudes toward President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Roughly 58% of respondents hold positive implicit…
The Arab Spring: to be continued
…Quite unexpectedly, during that poll, as many as 11.5% of the Tunisians said that their country was democratic against 14% saying that it was ruled by a dictator regime. The key problems were corruption and unemployment. The Tunisians did not believe their leaders – be they political or religious. Most of them said that their economy was worse than it…
Threatens a new wave of radicalization?
“In early December 2017, US President Donald Trump announced the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people and state of Israel. With this unexpected move, Trump not only violated the will, the resolutions and the aspirations of the international community, but he also maintained his unconditional support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies. Arab states, Islamic countries, European…
Het succesnummer van de Tunesische revolutie is na zeven jaar grijsgedraaid
…Het gevoel dat Tunesië ‘verloren’ is, lijkt breed te worden gedeeld. En tegelijkertijd lijken er maar weinig mensen in te geloven dat ze daarin iets kunnen veranderen. Vooral onder jongeren is de wanhoop groot. Het academisch onderzoeksproject Arab Barometer peilde dat de helft van de jongeren tussen 18 en 24 jaar erover denkt te vertrekken. ‘Ik heb er zelf nooit…
In the Triple Threat to Tunisia’s Democracy, Corruption is King
As austerity protestors clash with security forces in Tunisia, the country’s young democracy is threatened by a triple challenge: Insecurity, a lack of socioeconomic development and persistent corruption are interlinked and reinforce each other. Individually and in concert they undermine citizens’ confidence in the democratic system and hamper its ability to produce democracy dividends.
Tunisia’s Revolution, Act 2
…The country’s duly elected prime minister, Youssef Chahed, even went to the streets to talk to demonstrators – a type of accountability hardly imagined elsewhere in the region. He pleaded for people to accept the necessary belt-tightening. Police appeared sympathetic to the cries of youths left jobless by a stagnant economy. And the media covered the public outburst without restraint….
Europa ligt maar beter wakker van Tunesië
…In het algemeen wordt Tunesië geroemd als tot nog toe enige succesvol democratisch experiment na de Arabische revoluties. Maar het wordt afwachten hoe de regering nu verder omgaat met de protesten – olie op het vuur of olie op de golven? Uit peilingen blijkt steeds weer dat de Tunesiërs niet tegen hun democratie zijn, maar wel een betere kwaliteit van…
Kiderült, hogy demokráciát csinálni nehéz
“2013 októberében megdöbbent politikusok érkeztek Tunisz egyik konferenciaközpontjába. Az érkező kormánypárti és ellenzéki politikusok közül senki nem számított arra, hogy ennyi kamera előtt kell besétálnia a terembe. Ahogy arra sem, hogy ez a nap alapjaiban határozza majd meg Tunézia sorsát. A médiafigyelem azért lepte meg – és zavarta – a politikusokat, mert a ceremónián egy megállapodást kellett aláírniuk. És ha…
Morocco 2040: Emerging by Investing in Intangible Capital
Titled “Morocco 2040 – Emerging by Investing in Intangible Capital”, the Morocco Country Economic Memorandum 2017 is a comprehensive report aimed at assessing Morocco’s recent economic performance and its prospects for growth over the next two decades. The report outlines the economic governance reforms that could facilitate the achievement of an ambitious, albeit realistic, scenario of faster sustainable economic growth…
Security Reform during Democratic Transitions Experimental Evidence from Tunisia
The “Arab Spring” of 2010-2011 demonstrated that authoritarian collapse does not guarantee a transition to democracy. After revolutions, newly elected governments face a dilemma: they must rely on existing security institutions to restore order and stability, but they also must reform these potentially counterrevolutionary forces. In addition, these governments are now responsible to newly enfranchised populations. This paper offers a…
Understanding the Context: Hopes and Challenges in 2011
This chapter discusses the causes of the Arab Uprisings, who took part, what people saw as the main challenges facing their country and what their hopes were. It outlines the principal explanations for the Uprisings, then uses survey data to explore people’s views on key issues. We consider what we can learn from public opinion surveys about ordinary people’s assumptions…