Emerging Developments and Challenges in the Arab World

The events of the last few weeks are a watershed for Tunisia, Egypt, and other Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. The ongoing political events will resonate regionally and globally and, if followed by sound transitions to better governance structures, these events provide a unique opportunity to change MENA's political and social landscape. The root cause of the political turmoil in MENA is fatigue with longstanding authoritarian rule and weak political and economic governance as confirmed by public concerns over voice, social justice, accountability and access to services. The MENA region also has its strengths: its youth, resource base and the resilience shown during the global crisis. The economic and social impact will be significant in the short term with slippages in economic growth, fiscal revenues and tourism and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) receipts. Large parts of the population lack adequate access to jobs, land, services, finance and justice. They may be further affected as inflationary pressures grow depending, among others, on oil and food prices.

Accountability · Authoritarianism · Corporate governance · Democracy · Development economics · Economic policy · Economics · Economy · Foreign direct investment · Geography · Language change · Middle East · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Psychological resilience · Sociology · Tourism · Economic Growth and Development · Finance · Gender, Education, and Development Issues · Socioeconomic Development in MENA

• Under New Management

  Open Access•Peter Mameli•Digest of Middle East Studies•2013

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