Good governance is key to improving peoples’ lives; but the Arab world falls short on many governance indicators. Most Arab states remain highly authoritarian, although there is a growing dynamism in civil society and among opposition parties, both secular and Islamist. Problems in governance have impeded development in the Arab world and limited the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
There are strong historical causes for the current state of governance in the Arab world. Nevertheless, progress has been made in limited but significant ways. This should be reinforced by strengthening civil society, reinforcing electoral progress, supporting parliaments and the judiciary, enhancing local government, improving governance performance, and empowering women. The international community should play an important role in this process.
Although full democracy in the Arab world is a distant goal, broader participation in the political process, with a marked effect on human development, can be achieved.
The Arab State: Assisting or Obstructing Development?
Although full democracy in the Arab world remains a distant goal, broader participation in the political process, with a marked effect on human development, can be achieved.
More work from Carnegie
Climate Governance in Algeria: Analyzing Institutional Capacities, Challenges, and Strategic PathwaysThe country will need timely, concerted, and inclusive governance plans to meet the challenges posed by climate change.
- Joy Arkeh,
- Selma Khalil
Yoon’s Failed Political Coup and South Korea’s Mounting CrisisYoon’s martial law decree lasted only three hours, but the ramifications for his political future and the country’s political divide will go on much longer.
Russia in the Middle East and North Africa—Disrupting Washington’s Influence and Redefining Moscow’s Global RoleThe agency of MENA states and nonstate actors and their multilayered interactions with the United States, China, Russia, and the EU have helped shape the complex outcomes of the great power competition.
Overcoming the North-South Divide in Global Migration GovernanceAlthough migration policy trends in Global North and South countries diverge, the two hemispheres both stand to benefit from a more open labor market and more cohesive global migration governance.
- Alan Hirsch
