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In this section you will find the most important political documents related to democratic change in the Arab world. In this issue we publish a number of documents from Sudan, Tunisia, Iraq and Egypt. And we stop when we publish documents for the months of January and February 2022.

The Hirak was not limited to the Algerian teritory but also extended to the diaspora, where rallies organised every Sunday since 2019 in Paris demanding the "departure of the regime" were a public act of protest. This article, which is the first result of an ongoing field study, proposes an analysis of this protest and its location based on interviews with the different actors. It falls within the field of the study of social movements in the context of immigration and assumes that the protesters of the Paris diaspora Hirak develop patterns of organisation that reflect new forms of public activity. It builds on the premise that the protesters are not interested in reproducing what happened in Algeria but rather in inventing new forms of public activity related to protest in the diaspora; this allows for socio-political recognition within the native community as well as in French society. This protest action combines digital collective engagement in virtual communities with individual engagement that turns the individual into a protester while also enabling the expression of protest through art and culture. All forms of public action, despite their great diversity, converge in their reluctance to associate themselves with a particular ideology, especially in the creation of an "anti-regime" identity on the basis of which the protest initiatives of Algerian citizens in the diaspora are organised.

​This review discusses the main findings of the report issued by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral entitled The Global State of Democracy 2021: Building Resilience in a Pandemic Era.

This paper investigates the factors that have led to the collapse of Baath-ruled Syria. It argues that the abandonment of the rentier – distributive economic system that had traditionally propped up the social base of the Baath party (labourers, farmers, and rural populations) and the adoption of liberal economic policies was key to the crisis. The end of the Cold War, the passing of resistance discourse, with the start of the Middle East peace process, and the information revolution have contributed to weakening the cultural and ideological hegemony of the Syrian Baath-ruled state. This led to increasing reliance on the security apparatus to control an increasingly young and educated society. The loosening economic grip of the state resulting from the abandonment of the public sector, and the rise of crony capitalism accompanied by the declining role of political socialisation (in schools and universities), and the loss of control over the flow of information, left the regime with no other option but resorting to violence to deal with the crisis. The peaceful opposition movement hitherto was transformed into an armed revolution, and then into a regional and international proxy war, with the rising role foreign interference in the crisis.

Milestones in Democratic Transition in the Arab World 1/7 - 31/8/2021.

The current political scene has warned that Yemen could face huge threats in the coming years. The worst of these is the collapse of the country itself, in facing a comprehensive civil war. However, there is optimism that the outcomes of the national dialogue conference—which gained acceptance from core parties—will be entirely implementable. With optimism that the political scene is on a stable track, the economic situation is the next concern, with a distinct possibility that the country’s economic situation will get worse, with a spillover effect on the political situation. This paper presents Yemeni political history and describes the nation’s acting forces. The study shows the challenges of development that Yemen faces and the impacts of the 2011 uprising on this development, as well as the factors that led to the uprising. It then outlines the challenges to be faced by Yemen in the coming stages, and gives suggestions that might help in overcoming the difficulties facing stability and chances of comprehensive development.

This paper examines the role of the constitution designing process in pushing the democratic transition towards cooperation, rather than conflict, in light of the great uncertainty that characterizes the democratic transition process regarding the future. The study focuses on four successful cases of democratic transition (Poland, Chile, South Africa, and Indonesia) to identify the common factors that contributed to their success. Through its comparative approach, the study concludes that the process of constitution designing more socio-political than legal as it requires a great deal of bargaining and negotiations to achieve balance and harmony between the existing political and social actors. The study shows how the adoption of arrangements that limit the absolute power of the majority (counter- majoritarian measures) was one of the strategies used to assuage any fears and build confidence among the various political actors.

Oil is not just related to economics but is also connected to political development. This paper looks at the effect of oil on democracy by relying on a theoretical and empirical study using the tools of descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and statistical tests in the light of political economy in the form of the “resource curse.” It studies how authoritarian regimes have used hydrocarbon resources to prevent democratization by means of a range of mechanisms such as the tax impact, group formation, the effect of spending, and repression. The statistical analysis reveals that there is a statistically-significant inverse relationship between democracy and oil production. It can be said therefore that the oil states are less likely to become democratic. Although most Third-World states have been afflicted by the resource curse, it is not possible to view it as inevitable, but rather the result of dependence on the track represented by the inability to diversify resources or weakness in doing so. The resource curse does not apply to all states rich in natural resources, such as Norway.

Globally, many countries are implementing decentralization programs as a means of promoting both democratic and developmental objectives. Unfortunately, however, scholarship has yet to offer a comprehensive framework within which to assess and reform central-local relations. This article seeks to overcome the "division of labor" that has long separated analyses of administrative and political structures, and to provide stronger conceptual vocabulary for describing and analyzing the complexities of centralization and decentralization in both administration and politics. After developing two distinct continua of administrative and political centralization/ decentralization, the paper then combines them in a single matrix able to highlight the wide range of strategies and outcomes that emerge from the complex interplay of the two spheres. Depending on where a country lies within the matrix, it is argued, decentralization strategies may do more harm than good. Devolution strategies are especially problematic in settings with strong local leaders, and should never be attempted without careful analysis of the preexisting character of central-local ties.

This study traces the evolution and divergence of state–society relations in the Middle East and North Africa through the lens of social pacts and welfare regimes. It asks how governments across the region have responded to popular mobilization during and after the Arab uprisings, and what these responses reveal about the nature of the Arab state – or, more accurately, Arab states – in the region. By situating post-uprising developments within longer post-independence trajectories, the study traces sharply divergent paths since 2010. These varied responses underscore the absence of a single "Arab state" model. Instead, welfare regimes and social pacts across different types of political economies in the region reflect at least three distinct models of Arab statehood. In the oil-rich Gulf monarchies, fiscal surpluses sustain generous welfare systems and ambitious development strategies, while rulers cautiously promote expanded roles for the private sector under tight control. In middle-income states, initial post-uprising concessions, such as expanded social spending and employment, quickly gave way to austerity, debt crises, targeted assistance, and rising repression, resulting in declining welfare provision and shrinking opportunities for the middle class. In low-income and conflict-affected countries, protracted wars and state fragmentation have devastated welfare infrastructures, leaving humanitarian actors to fill governance vacuums.