FRIDE The new Middle East

The multiple challenges of Libya's reconstruction

Barah Mikaïl — 2012-02-11T21:59:32+01:00

Libya faces a set of complex economic, political and social challenges. The solutions to theses challenges lie in pooling efforts and channelling them towards concrete objectives. The international community has a very important role to play.

Militaries, civilians and democracy in the Arab world

Rut Diamint, Barah Mikaïl — 2012-02-11T21:59:32+01:00

Negotiating the military’s return to the barracks and establishing civilian rule will be a highly-sensitive key challenge for incoming Arab governments. Latin American transitions provide useful lessons on how and when to limit the power of the army without eroding its support for the new order.

The Role of New Media and Communication Technologies in Arab Transitions

Manuel Manrique, Barah Mikaïl — 2012-02-11T21:59:32+01:00

Information and Communication Technologies were an important catalyst of the Arab spring. They helped to bring down the Mubarak and Ben Ali regimes by mobilising important parts of the population and creating alternative discourses to authoritarian regimes, which found international backing. However, experiences from other parts of the world suggest that their role in sustaining the transition process in the longer run is less certain. ICTs can nonetheless support democratic consolidation by fostering an open public sphere and helping pro-democracy actors to remain engaged.

With the support of:

State reform in Arab Transitions

Susanne Gratius, Barah Mikaïl — 2012-02-11T21:59:32+01:00

State reform will be one of the most difficult tasks confronting Arab states in transition. Experience from other regions offers lessons for the challenges ahead in the Middle East. The success of state reform will depend on the manner in which the transition came about – breakdown, reform or conflict -, on the level of cohesion of political elites and societies and on the balance of power between hawks and doves.

With the support of:

Egyptian democracy and the Muslim Brotherhood

Kristina Kausch — 2012-02-11T21:59:32+01:00

In this new paper published by the European Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Amr Shobaki, Kristina Kausch and Nathan J Brown assess the Egyptian pre-electoral political landscape from an Egyptian, European and US-American perspective, analyse prospects for democracy under the Muslim Brotherhood, and offer policy implications for Egypt’s Western partners.

Full version of this publication at the EUISS website