Article
Marina Ottaway, Omar Hossino
{
"authors": [
"Marina Ottaway"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Egypt",
"Gulf",
"Levant",
"Maghreb"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
The Rise and Fall of Political Reform in the Arab World
It is increasingly clear that reform in the Arab world depends less on the structure of formal political processes and institutions than on power relations among factions within Arab nations.
Published on Dec 14, 2010
Source: Current History
In countries with elected parliaments, all parties, including Islamist ones, showed more interest in taking part in elections. Even in Gulf countries without formally democratic institutions, pressure was increasing on governments to make room for at least partially elected parliaments or for municipal councils, or to allow “political societies” to operate even though parties were banned. Reformers both inside regimes and in the opposition emphasized strengthening representative institutions and increasing political participation, while trying to avoid defiance and conflict.
Today, the hope for reform without confrontation has waned in most countries. Governments throughout the Arab world have abandoned the pretense of reform and are reconsolidating their grip on power. They are narrowing opportunities for political participation by manipulating laws and closing the space in which political parties can operate. Reform, it is increasingly clear, depends less on the design of formal processes and institutions than on power relations among factions within nations.
About the Author
Marina Ottaway
Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program
Before joining the Endowment, Ottaway carried out research in Africa and in the Middle East for many years and taught at the University of Addis Ababa, the University of Zambia, the American University in Cairo, and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
- Reactions to the Syrian National Initiative
- Slow Return to Normal Politics in EgyptArticle
Marina Ottaway
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Lebanon Should Try to Place Hezbollah on the U.S.-Iran TableCommentary
As talks begin between Washington and Tehran, Beirut has an opening to advance a regional plan for the party’s disarmament.
Michael Young
- Loyal but Powerless: The Downgrading of Russia’s ElitePaper
The ruling elites in contemporary Russia are not a political class, but a community of managers who are not subject to competition or public accountability. The state is becoming an operating apparatus without any internal autonomy.
Alexandra Prokopenko
- What Does Pashinyan’s Parliamentary Victory Mean for Armenia’s Future?Commentary
Pashinyan’s pro-European party has been re-elected with a decisive victory. But the pro-Russian opposition could still slow Armenia’s progress toward peace with Azerbaijan and rapprochement with Europe.
Mikayel Zolyan
- From Sovereigns to Servants. How the War Against Ukraine Reshaped Russia’s EliteBook
How did Putin co-opt Russia’s political and economic elites, ensuring no more than fitful resistance to the regime’s war on Ukraine?
Alexandra Prokopenko
- Will Russia–Armenia Relations Improve Following Pashinyan’s Re-Election?Commentary
For all the menacing rhetoric, the Armenian prime minister remains a leader with whom Putin is prepared to interact: not as an ally, but as a partner, albeit a problematic one.
Alexander Atasuntsev
