Download or read book Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa written by Robert P. Beschel and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical examinations of efforts to make governments more efficient and responsive Political upheavals and civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have obscured efforts by many countries in the region to reform their public sectors. Unwieldy, unresponsive—and often corrupt—governments across the region have faced new pressure, not least from their publics, to improve the quality of public services and open up their decisionmaking processes. Some of these reform efforts were under way and at least partly successful before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2010. Reform efforts have continued in some countries despite the many upheavals since then. This book offers a comprehensive assessment of a wide range of reform efforts in nine countries. In six cases the reforms targeted core systems of government: Jordan's restructuring of cabinet operations, the Palestinian Authority's revision of public financial management, Morocco's voluntary retirement program, human resource management reforms in Lebanon, an e-governance initiative in Dubai, and attempts to improve transparency in Tunisia. Five other reform efforts tackled line departments of government, among them Egypt's attempt to improve tax collection and Saudi Arabia's work to improve service delivery and bill collection. Some of these reform efforts were more successful than others. This book examines both the good and the bad, looking not only at what each reform accomplished but at how it was implemented. The result is a series of useful lessons on how public sector reforms can be adopted in MENA.

Download or read book Reform in the Arab World written by Talmiz Ahmad and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: September 11 provided a vision and a strategy to a US Presidency that until then had been groping for fresh ideas and a relevant foreign policy. The 'global war on terror' now became an article of faith for the United States. The US Government, media and think-tanks turned their attention to Islam, the Arab world and Saudi Arabia, and held them responsible for the catastrophe unleashed upon the Americans. Reform of religion, of politics and economics, of education, and of cultural and religious life thus became the new buzz-word. This new focus on 'reform', whatever the motivation of its protagonists, had the effect of igniting a reform - related debate across the Arab world. Academics, journalists, businessmen and political figures, and, frequently, government leaders, all of them participated in this resounding cacophony for reform, discussing issues of political, economic, social, religious and cultural change with unprecedented freedom. The discussion about reform is still in full flow, yielding in its wake some satisfaction that debates are underway that will decide the destiny of the Arab person. This monograph provides an account of this extraordinary intellectual ferment in the Arab world and the attempts of governments, Arab and foreign, to cope politically and intellectually with these new challenges. -- Back jacket.

Download or read book Beyond the Facade Political Reform in the Arab World written by Marina Ottaway and published by Carnegie Endowment. This book was released on 2008 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East written by Samira Alayan and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Education systems and textbooks in selected countries of the Middle East are increasingly the subject of debate. This volume presents and analyzes the major trends as well as the scope and the limits of education reform initiatives undertaken in recent years. In curricula and teaching materials, representations of the "Self" and the "Other" offer insights into the contemporary dynamics of identity politics. By building on a network of scholars working in various countries in the Middle East itself, this book aims to contribute to the evolution of a field of comparative education studies in this region.

Download or read book Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World written by Rex Brynen and published by Lynne Rienner Publishers. This book was released on 1995 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arab world is experiencing a variety of factors - internal and external - that are leading to change. This work examines such factors that are shaping political liberalisation and democratisation in the Arab context, as well as the role played by particular social groups.

Download or read book Inventing Our Future written by Ismail Serageldin and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Arab Spring written by Jason Brownlee and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several years after the Arab Spring began, democracy remains elusive in the Middle East. The Arab Spring that resides in the popular imagination is one in which a wave of mass mobilization swept the broader Middle East, toppled dictators, and cleared the way for democracy. The reality is that few Arab countries have experienced anything of the sort. While Tunisia made progress towards some type of constitutionally entrenched participatory rule, the other countries that overthrew their rulers-Egypt, Yemen, and Libya-remain mired in authoritarianism and instability. Elsewhere in the Arab world uprisings were suppressed, subsided or never materialized. The Arab Spring's modest harvest cries out for explanation. Why did regime change take place in only four Arab countries and why has democratic change proved so elusive in the countries that made attempts? This book attempts to answer those questions. First, by accounting for the full range of variance: from the absence or failure of uprisings in such places as Algeria and Saudi Arabia at one end to Tunisia's rocky but hopeful transition at the other. Second, by examining the deep historical and structure variables that determined the balance of power between incumbents and opposition. Brownlee, Masoud, and Reynolds find that the success of domestic uprisings depended on the absence of a hereditary executive and a dearth of oil rents. Structural factors also cast a shadow over the transition process. Even when opposition forces toppled dictators, prior levels of socioeconomic development and state strength shaped whether nascent democracy, resurgent authoritarianism, or unbridled civil war would follow.

Download or read book A New Arab Social Contract written by Maximilian Benner and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-05-27 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph offers a unique conceptual bridge between economic geography and Middle Eastern political economy. Arab economies are confronted with enormous structural difficulties such as high rates of youth unemployment in a challenging demographic context, exacerbated by intense spatial disparities. These structural problems demonstrate the breakdown of the "Arab social contract", a social arrangement centered on a strong role of the state in welfare and employment provision, for which regimes demanded acquiescence to authoritarian rule. The book argues that the Arab social contract can be understood in terms of regulation theories known in economic geography and sociology. It uses the approaches such as the regulation school, national systems of innovation, social systems of production, and varieties of capitalism to analyze the structural difficulties of Arab economies and current reform efforts. The basic assumption is that Arab economies are currently faced with a structural crisis. After the breakdown of the Arab social contract, there is a mismatch between the economic and institutional spheres of society. The challenge is for Arab societies to develop new forms of socio-institutional regulation. The book proposes ways towards such new modes of regulation by developing a framework for regulation specifically targeted towards Arab societies, and by applying it to the cases of Tunisia and Jordan.

Download or read book Beyond the Fa ade written by Marina Ottaway and published by American University in Cairo Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Promoting Middle East Democracy II written by Mona Yacoubian and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Human Rights Revolution and Reform in the Muslim World written by Anthony Tirado Chase and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author stresses the importance of focusing on the diverse Muslim world rather than on one of its parts. He rejects popular arguments that there is an incompatibility between human rights and Islam.

Download or read book Current Transformations and their Potential Role in Realizing Change in the Arab World written by The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research and published by Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. This book was released on 2007-02-05 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, terms and concepts like change, reform, modernization, development, political transformation and democratization have become commonplace at various national and international levels among both civil and official organizations. Although audible in the past, appeals for reform from within the Arab world have taken on a new dimension since the beginning of the 21st century. The 2002 UNDP Arab Human Development Report sketched the first systematic structure for these demands. This new drive for reform has emerged in the midst of unfavorable regional and international circumstances, such as the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, the occupation of Iraq by the United States, and the escalation of terrorism. In the face of calls for reform from both their own peoples and foreign forces, Arab ruling regimes have exploited these issues to cripple or postpone the introduction of comprehensive reforms. In the Arab world, the influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society institutions remains limited. However, further cultural and political development will strengthen the role of these bodies in creating a system of freedom and good governance in Arab states. Recently, demands by Arab societal and political forces for democracy have increased to such an extent that progressive Islamic thought has endeavored to achieve historical reconciliation with the mechanisms and values of democracy, seeking, for example, to bring together democracy and the Islamic principle of Shura (consultation). Most political Islamic groups now advocate democracy, but there is still some doubt as to whether these movements do so out of true conviction or are simply using the concept of democracy as a vehicle to seize power, which can be discarded after serving its purpose. Hence, political Islamic movements must clarify their attitudes towards democracy and ultimately decide whether not to follow a democratic path. It is also vital that Arab regimes refrain from intimidating internal and external forces by threatening the possibility of Islamic movements taking power if free and honest elections were to be held, and by using this to justify their hindrance of democratic transformations, effectively paralyzing Arab political life. Modern developmental experiences and theories have clearly established a strong – if not vital – link between liberty and development. Ultimately, therefore, any project to spread democracy in the Arab world must be associated with an effective process of comprehensive development.

Download or read book Reviving Arab Reform written by Islam Abdelbary and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2021-02-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reviving Arab Reform seeks to understand the key factors that have inhibited a reliable reform programme in the Middle East following the 2010s Arab Spring riots and unrest. It also provides suggestions for policymakers on how to design, execute, and assess an effective reform program suitable for Arab circumstances.

Download or read book Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies written by Anoushiravan Ehteshami and published by Garnet & Ithaca Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The oil rich monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula are frequently dismissed as having no democratic systems compared to most other regions of the world. Indeed, the United States justified its action in Iraq by proclaiming that democracy and freedom must be adopted both in Iraq and throughout the wider Middle East, in order to counter the conditions which breed international terrorism. It has been argued that the countries of the Arabian Peninsula need to provide a system of democratic representation that fully takes into account their own history and culture. This raises many questions. Can their firmly established tradition of rule provide the basis for the evolution of an Arab form of constitutional monarchy? Should the West be seeking to encourage national indigenous evolution rather than working to impose Western systems? What are the risks of change and what has been achieved so far? This book addresses these issues and examines the drivers, progress, and challenges for future change in this vitally strategic area of the world.

Download or read book Reform and change in the arab world written by مركز القدس للدراسات السياسية and published by Al Manhal. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book includes papers presented at the first conference entitled “Network of Reform and Democratic Change in the Arab World” which was jointly organized by Al Quds Center for Political Studies and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Amman, 8-10 December 2006. Papers were presented by intellectuals and politicians who reside on various locations of the reform spectrum. They addressed a wide range of reform concepts, its priorities and mechanism. The papers also tackle the reform experience and official, civil, Arab, and international initiatives. They also identify the role of “political Islam” in this process Descriptor(s): ISLAM | ARAB COUNTRIES | POLITICAL CONFLICT | DEBATES | DEMOCRACY | CONFLICTS

Download or read book The Political Economy of Education in the Arab World written by HICHAM. ALAOUI and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Networks of Privilege in the Middle East The Politics of Economic Reform Revisited written by S. Heydemann and published by Springer. This book was released on 2004-08-20 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the role of informal networks in the politics of Middle Eastern economic reform. The editor's introduction demonstrates how network-based models overcome limitations in existing approaches to the politics of economic reform. The following chapters show how business-state networks in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan have affected privatization programs and the reform of fiscal policies. They help us understand patterns and variation in the organization and outcome of economic reform programs, including the opportunities that economic reforms offered for reorganizing networks of economic privilege across the Middle East.