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12. Can Tunisia Shake Off “Business as Usual” Following Covid-19?
- Author:
- Salma Houerbi
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- The consequences of Covid-19 on Tunisia’s already fragile economy are bound to exacerbate existing social tensions. The government has rolled out a series of socio-economic measures to support individual entrepreneurs and businesses to maintain jobs and incomes across all sectors. This paper argues that the government’s support to the private sector represents a golden opportunity to rectify longstanding problems in state-business relations and institute a culture of corporate accountability. But to do so, the government should place the Covid-19 response within a broader effort to address the persistent and systemic challenges the country faces from corruption to rent-seeking to vulnerable workers’ conditions.
- Topic:
- Public Health, Humanitarian Crisis, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
13. Covid-19 and a Deepening Conflict Worsen Libya's Humanitarian Situation
- Author:
- Khayreddine Basha
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- The military conflict between Haftar and GNA forces in Libya continues to escalate, unaffected by Covid-19 or international calls for a ceasefire. A lack of coordination between the fighting parties and the ineffective implementation of measures to fight the spread of the pandemic further compound Libya’s worsening humanitarian situation. This paper explores Covid-19 impact on the health and humanitarian situation in Libya and examines the factors that contribute to the continuation of the conflict, including the incitement of international and regional actors involved in it.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy, Conflict, Public Health, Humanitarian Crisis, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Libya
14. Sudan: Managing COVID-19 Pandemic During a Time of Transition
- Author:
- Ezman Kunna
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Sudan’s current transitional government has inherited a fragile health system that suffered years of neglect and underinvestment. The spread of COVID-19 poses important challenges to the country’s health and political structures. This Q&A looks at how Sudan’s government and non-government actors are faring against the spread of the pandemic and the impact of the lockdown on the political transition in the country.
- Topic:
- Political stability, Public Health, Pandemic, Transition, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Sudan
15. Tunisia: New Government, New Dynamics?
- Author:
- Zied Boussen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- After months of negotiation, Tunisia’s parliament voted in a government like no other since 2011. Headed by a prime minister whose party is not represented in parliament and with more than half of the ministers independent or new to government office, it is the first since 2011 that is not a “national unity” government. This paper examines this new Tunisian political landscape, the relationship between the prime minister and Tunisia’s president, and looks at the impact of this configuration on the ability of the new government to carry out long-awaited reforms.
- Topic:
- Governance, Reform, Political stability, and Transition
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
16. Tunisia: In Tataouine, Socio-Economic Marginalization Is a Time Bomb
- Author:
- Alessandra Bajec
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Despite being rich in oil and gas, Tataouine in the south of Tunisia has remained severely underdeveloped and marginalized, pushing its inhabitants, time and again, to protest for reinvestment of its wealth in infrastructure and local jobs. This paper examines the underlying drivers of the ongoing unrest in Tataouine, the heavy-handed response of the security forces, and the successive Tunisian governments’ broken pledges to address the region’s socio-economic marginalization.
- Topic:
- Governance, Accountability, Marginalization, Socioeconomics, and Civil Unrest
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
17. Diasporas: A Global and Vibrant Force for Arab Democratization
- Author:
- Amine Al-Sharif
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- The Arab Spring was to sound the death knell of the decades-old authoritarian regimes plaguing the Arab world. In the end, only Egypt and Tunisia underwent a democratic transition, and only the Tunisian people succeeded in establishing a real, albeit still fragile, democracy. This regional experience illustrates the difficulty to spur democratic change in Arab countries. A lot of actors are involved in these complex processes, such as the political elite, the army, and foreign states. On top of these, Arab diasporas are also an important player, who can play an even more influential role by self-organizing. What are their actual and potential means of action, and how can self-organizing enhance their influence? Arab diasporas consist of all the Arab people permanently settled in a foreign country who have kept ties with their motherland. These populations, estimated at around 50 million individuals, are highly heterogenous: they are concentrated in Brazil, Western Europe, the United States and Gulf countries; some hold businesses that have thrived, others hold blue-collar jobs; some are conservatives, others modern-minded. And sometimes, they represent an important share of their motherland’s population. The Lebanese and Palestinian diasporas are estimated to comprise more than half of their own populations, making them de facto important players in national politics. Full-fledged democratization in the Arab world is the result of a popular uprising, a transition from authoritarianism to democracy, and a consolidation of democracy. Arab diasporas can contribute to all these stages by engaging in six strategic fields, namely: the civic, media, artistic, entrepreneurial, political, and intellectual ones.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Social Movement, Arab Spring, and Protests
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Middle East
18. Local Authorities in Tunisia Face Challenges of Post-COVID Economic Recovery
- Author:
- Afef Hammami Marrakchi
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- What role can local authorities in Tunisia play as part of the country’s response to Covid-19? This paper examines the opportunities offered to Tunisian municipalities (communes) by the Local Government Act but also the real constraints – human, logistical, and financial – that these new devolved structures face as they seek to play a key role in the recovery.
- Topic:
- Recovery, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
19. Egypt after the Coronavirus: Back to Square One
- Author:
- Ishac Diwan, Nadim Houry, and Yezid Sayigh
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Egypt’s recent security and macro-economic stabilization has been built on weak foundations and Covid-19 has further exposed this fragility. Egypt is now back to a situation broadly similar to that before the 2011 revolution: stable on the surface, but with deep structural problems and simmering social grievances, and little buffers to mitigate them. This paper argues for a major shift in the ways the country is currently governed in favour of greater openness in politics and markets, and for the international community to seriously engage Egypt on the need to reform economically and politically.
- Topic:
- Security, Arab Spring, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Egypt
20. Ending Denial: Anti-Black Racism in Morocco
- Author:
- Stephen J. King
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Morocco is a diverse country that has yet to come to terms with its own black population and the impact of centuries of the trans-Sahara slave trade. Diversity, the history of slavery in Morocco, and the racism that is generally inherent in post-slave societies are not openly discussed and often denied by non-Blacks. This paper examines the efforts of black Moroccans to tell the stories of racial discrimination against them as a first step in an attempt to raise awareness, pierce the taboos and end the denial surrounding anti-black racism in Morocco.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Political Activism, Discrimination, and Racism
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Morocco