Tunisia’s decade-old democracy hangs in the balance after President Kais Saied removed the prime minister and suspended Parliament on Sunday. Why it matters: Tunisia was the lone democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring. It remains the only democracy in the Arab world. But the country’s politics have been deadlocked amid an economic crisis and its worst COVID-19 wave, leading…
Political Institutions
Mofeed-19: Interview with Amaney Jamal, PhD.
The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD) at CDDRL, in partnership with the Arab Studies Institute, is pleased to announce the launch Mofeed-19, a 19-minute video podcast that discusses research efforts pertaining to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Arab world. The podcast is part of the Mofeed-19 Project, an initiative that builds foundational resources for understanding how…
Majority of Lebanese believe in a secular state: survey
BEIRUT: Over half of Lebanese believe that a civil/secular system of governance is best for the country, the latest survey by Arab Barometer has revealed. A thousand citizens were questioned over the phone between July and October on their opinions regarding the country’s political system and the Beirut Port explosion. The survey was conducted by Statistics Lebanon, a polling and…
Lebanon: divided politics, shared discontent
The explosion at the port of Beirut killed at least 150 people, and the subsequent massive protests led to the resignation of the government. However, the protests are not about replacing the figureheads, but about addressing the ‘bankruptcy’ of the political pact that was intended to keep the religious groups in balance. The fear is great that giving up on…