The initiative is based on three main principles: 1- The Arab world needs to develop its own conception of reform, based on its present realities and rooted in its history. While there are basic universal criteria that apply to a process of democratic reform in any given society, the initiative seeks to generate knowledge by those who are the prime targets of reform. 2- Reform is a comprehensive process which can only succeed if the interaction between the political, economic, societal and cultural spheres is fully recognized. In the quest to build free, just and democratic societies, the initiative privileges issues of democratization and good governance, socio-economic and cultural transformations, and social justice.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Plenty of reform initiatives are spreading all over the Arab world and they will be highlighted in this blog in the next few weeks, with special focus on the resources they provide online. The following three initiatives provide very good general understanding and evaluation of the reform efforts in the Arab World. Other initiatives will be discussed and presented later.
I have a feeling, and please correct me If I am wrong that the Arab Reform Forum that was established in Library of Alexandria in response to the Alexandria declaration on reform in 2004 is one of the most comprehensive and articulated reform initiatives in the Arab world.
The forum has conducted two Arab reform conferences in 2004 and 2005 and preparing to organize the 3rd forum in 2007.
The Alexandria declaration is the most comprehensive programme for reform in the Arab World and includes bold and direct proposals but the test is in implementation. The website of the Arab Reform Forum is rich in publications and reports that provide a great intellectual display but still the site lacks interactivity and clear discription of the Forum activities and objectives.
The Arab Reform Initiative is a consortium of fifteen key policy research centers from the Arab world with partners from Europe and the United States, working to mobilize the Arab research capacity to advance knowledge and promote a home grown program for democratic reform.
3- The network’s conception of reform fully recognizes that Arab countries present very diverse situations and that this diversity is likely to become more salient as societies engage in a path of liberalization. Thanks to its composition, with member institutes and scholars from all countries of the region, the initiative is well positioned to produce analyses and recommend diverse solutions relevant to the specificities of each society.
The ARI website is rich in resources and has the added value of providing updated news and issues analysis.
The Arab Reform Bulletin published by the Carnegie Endowment is one of the most informative initiatives that goes deep into comprehensive analysis of reform in the Arab world. The bulletin includes research papers and news updates from all Arab countries and monitores the progress or lack of it in the Arab world with an accurate critical eye.
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from United States
Sir,
The only way to reform from my perspective is through education and only educatoin, schools and universities is the key players in this arena but I am sorry to say that the people who teach in the schools are the people whose grades were "less" than average so how do you expect us to advance..The soloution has to come from the top, commitment to reforming the educational system must be our priority and by the way lets have a parliment that knows how to read and write:)