Democracy dividend vs. autocratic model in crisis
Democracy is under siege. But the evidence that democracy is good for growth doesn’t directly speak to whether democracy is easy to make work. Nor does it imply or maintain… Read more »
Category: Tunisia
Tunisia could be regional model or inspiration, but….
Tunisia has continued to make progress on democracy, including a Constitution guaranteeing fundamental rights, but there is still a lot to do, says a UN expert. “Tunisia still faces numerous… Read more »
Was the Arab Spring a Black Swan event?
The Arab Spring surely satisfies the three criteria for a black swan event: surprising, historically consequential, and rationalized by hindsight, notes the World Bank’s Elena Ianchovichina, author of Eruptions of… Read more »
Has U.S. lost its ‘power of inspiration’ as a model of democracy?
The violent collapse of the Arab Spring has damaged the cause of liberal politics not just in the Middle East, but around the world. Strongman leaders are back in fashion… Read more »
Promoting political pluralism in the Middle East
Puritanical Salafist Muslims have attacked Sufi shrines and communities across the Arab world in a campaign to spread their influence. But in Tunisia, where national history and identity are intimately… Read more »
Tunisian unrest symptomatic of healthy democratic evolution
Some view Tunisia’s recent demonstrations and the government’s response as a dire warning that the end of the country’s experiment with democracy is near, notes Safwan Masri, the author of… Read more »
Tunisians losing faith in the ballot box?
Seven years after the revolution, many Tunisians are losing faith in a democratic transition that was meant to bring wider prosperity, The Economist notes: A poll by the International Republican… Read more »
Tunisia protests highlight trade-off between democracy and strong economy?
One person has died, 50 policemen have been injured and more than 200 people arrested in two nights of widespread and violent protests across Tunisia, driven by anger over steep price… Read more »
Merits and limits to democracy promotion in the Middle East
To advocate true democracy in the Arab world is a tough sell at the best of times. In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” a half-decade that witnessed some of… Read more »
Political Islam After the Arab Spring: Between Jihad and Democracy?
Around 1,000 Indonesians, led by hardline Islamist groups, protested outside parliament on Tuesday as lawmakers approved a presidential decree banning civil organizations deemed to go against the country’s secular… Read more »