CPI 2022 for Middle East and North Africa: Lack of government integrity fuels ongoing conflict in Arab States

• by siteadmin
• June 6, 2023

Government Center for Middle Eastern Studies

Such steps, together with continued investments in regional expertise and cross-ministerial coordination, are important in establishing the foundations for a more coordinated German approach to the Middle East. On an EU level, Germany could engage more in the EU-GCC Clean Energy Network that was established in 2010. In addition, the European Green Deal offers opportunities to foster green energy cooperation with the Gulf states on business, political and research levels. According to a BCG study, e-government services have become an integral part of residents’ daily lives in the UAE. The level of satisfaction with digital government services in the UAE is recorded at 79% for 2022.

Other defining events in this transformation included the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the eventual departure of European powers, notably Britain and France by the end of the 1960s. They were supplanted in some part by the rising influence of the United States from the 1970s onwards. The Middle East lies at the juncture of Africa and Eurasia and of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

CPI 2022 for Middle East & North Africa: Corruption fuels ongoing conflict

This collection, however, follows the US-Israeli position by not identifying Palestine as a state. Nonetheless, Glenn E. Robinson, the author of the chapter on the Palestinians, penned a well-written, informative contribution on the subject. Over the centuries, many historians believed that the Garden of Eden was once located on the very site of the Mesopotamian Marshes. However, what is certain is that this area was deemed the cradle of civilization where some of the world’s first peoples and written languages began.

• The Assad regime, based on the minority Alawite sect, began indiscriminately firing on peaceful protesters in 2011, and within a year opponents started taking up arms.
• The North Africa and Sahel Program studies this region’s evolving internal social, political, and economic dynamics and draws attention to its growing geopolitical significance.
• European ethnic groups that form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians (including Kabardians), Crimean Tatars, Greeks, Franco-Levantines, Italo-Levantines, and Iraqi Turkmens.
• Businessmen and clerics promoted Isis and Jabhat al-Nusra, but the government is now coordinating with the US in backing only “vetted” non-jihadi Islamist units.
• It also contains a chapter on “The Palestinians,” not the “State of Palestine.” The United Nations granted Palestine non-member observer state status in 2012.

The Gulf monarchs – maverick pro-Islamist Qatar apart – are using their oil wealth to bankroll counter-revolution at home and abroad. In Syria, next door, the conflict rages on – bleeding into Iraq across a desert border drawn up during the first world war and now effectively erased by the Islamic State (Isis), the triumphant advocates of a seventh-century Islamic caliphate. Palestine, the region’s oldest conflict, has exploded spectacularly with the latest bout of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The command is used to set up a port forwarding tunnel from the compromised machine as a means to access the remote server’s RDP service as if it was running locally. At the same time, an unknown batch file was executed, which redirected output to a text file in the %USERPROFILE%\public directory.

Spyware Employs Various Obfuscation Techniques to Bypass Static Analysis

Central government in Tripoli is unable to control hundreds of militias, especially Benghazi-based jihadists of Ansar al-Sharia. Low turnout in parliamentary elections; militia violence, as well as power, fuel and water shortages disrupt daily life. Evacuation of US, UK and other foreign embassies underline growing international alarm. Operation Protective Edge targeted the rockets and “terror tunnels” of the Islamic Resistance Movement, AKA Hamas, and killed more Palestinians than any previous offensive in the Gaza Strip. Binyamin Netanyahu’s government backs settlement in occupied territories and does not support an independent Palestinian state.

King Abdullah, 92, was horrified by the overthrow of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak in 2011, and furious with Barack Obama. Saudis fear a deal over Iran’s nuclear programme – and being abandoned by a US “pivoting” to Asia. Jordan has taken in 600,000 Syrian refugees – following on from waves of displaced Palestinians and Iraqis in the past. The small, resource-poor but staunchly pro-western monarchy has weathered the strains of the Arab spring more successfully than others. Jordan discreetly allowed CIA training and Saudi arms to cross the border into Syria. Its leaders fear the appeal of Isis to disaffected Sunnis – al-Qaida in Iraq was founded by the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – but it has the best intelligence service in the Arab world.

Drawing on the history of post-independence Tunisia, the book studies the evolution of al-Nahḍah as a political party in Tunisia and its role in a protracted struggle to shape the post-authoritarian order along democratic lines. This book examines the processes of transition from authoritarian rule in Tunisia and Egypt between 2011 and 2014, arguing that differences between the two countries can be explained by the conduct of their respective political parties. Greek is one of the two official languages of Cyprus, and the country’s main language. Small communities of Greek speakers exist all around the Middle East; until the 20th century it was also widely spoken in Asia Minor (being the second most spoken language there, after Turkish) and Egypt.

• Gasiorowski contributes an excellent chapter on Iran, but he missed the mark when he predicted that the…
• The end of the Pax Americana – conditioned by US retrenchment, growing roles claimed by Russia and China, and the emergence of assertive regional powers such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE – is transforming the region’s strategic environment.
• A deeply fractured polity at the best of times, Lebanon has suffered in the wake of the war in Syria and is hosting more than one million refugees.

Our solutions, from strategy and policy through to execution, are human-led and tech-powered. These solutions are driving real-life results for our region as it goes through a period of massive and fast transformation. Several major university-based programs also dive into Iranian history and affairs; among them are Stanford’s Program in Iranian Studies and Manchester’s Nashriyah, a digital archive of Iranian historical periodicals, photographs, and documents. An English-language online daily that generates interesting content is Morocco World News, which for Western readers may be the best portal to Moroccan happenings given that most other Moroccan publications appear primarily in Arabic or French. The Program on Economics and Energy seeks to advance understanding of the impact of a global energy transition away from hydrocarbons for those traditional oil and gas exporters of the Middle East.

In the spirit of accelerating sustainable development and economic recovery in Africa, this year’s meeting will focus on leveraging open government approaches to strengthen public service delivery in the region. Participants will share experiences, best practices and lessons on advancing critical public service policy areas including anti-corruption, digital innovation, access to justice, and civic participation. The Southern Mediterranean, Syria, Yemen and sub-Saharan Africa will remain of the utmost strategic significance for Germany’s foreign policy. Still, a coherent strategy for how to address such theatres of crisis has not been developed yet due to a lack of capacities in crisis prevention and foresight analysis. Besides traditional formats for conflict mediation, Berlin should thus also consider engaging more in ad hoc diplomatic mechanisms and regional cooperation better prepare for acute crisis escalation in regions where German interests are at stake.

High-quality, standards-aligned classroom resources, lesson plans, teaching inspiration, and professional development opportunities—all inspired by our mission that Global Civics is essential for twenty-first century citizenship. Unlike previous editions of The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa, Professor of Political Science at Tulane University Mark Gasiorowski served as the sole editor of the seventh edition. The book’s individual chapters, each written by a country specialist, cover states from Iran in the East to Morocco in the West. It also contains a chapter on “The Palestinians,” not the “State of Palestine.” The United Nations granted Palestine non-member observer state status in 2012. By September 2015, 136 countries (over 70 percent of UN member states) had granted it state recognition.

No going back: How America and the Middle East can turn the page to a productive future

US drone strikes, launched from Saudi Arabia, target al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula but often kill innocents. Attempts to reach a ceasefire between Yemeni army and Houthi rebels (said to be backed by Iran) failed. Tribal sabotage of the electrical grid left the capital city Sana’a without fuel or electricity earlier this year, prompting mass protests calling for the overthrow of the government. Saudi Arabia (with Qatar, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates) funded Sunni rebels in Syria and Iraq. Businessmen and clerics promoted Isis and Jabhat al-Nusra, but the government is now coordinating with the US in backing only “vetted” non-jihadi Islamist units. The dismissal of Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan reflected a sharper counter-terrorist focus, sparked by fears of Afghan-style “blowback” from returning fighters.

To start, an excellent resource for exploring civil society organizations across the Arab world is Arab.org, which is a regional portal for non-governmental organizations that lists close to 4,000 entities. It features a consociational political structure marked by confessionalism, all knit together by regnant tensions, frail institutions, and the shadow of foreign intervention. The trauma of Lebanon’s civil war, and the communal conflicts that portend the breakdown of governance, lingers. With new challenges, from the Syrian refugee crisis to fiscal emergencies, confronting its administration, the polarized yet extant Lebanese state continues to meander forward – stable, but not static. After decades of trauma and occupation, the dream of statehood has stalled for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

About this book

MEI’s scholars draw on deep ties and decades of experience working in the region to build better understanding of Middle East policy. The MEI Art Gallery is open to the public weekdays from 10am to 5pm (closed for federal holidays). Visitors are encouraged to register for a timed visit at the link below, but walk-ins are also welcome. Building on Timothy Mitchell’s seminal 1991 exploration of the “Limits of the State,” this book brings together contributions on the state in the Arab world from the past and present in an edited volume. Altered States views the state less as a matter of people and institutions and more as sets of…

The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) (TI’s chapter in Palestine) is of the view that Palestine would not be in a better position than countries in the region if it were listed on the CPI. For some 15 years, Palestine has not been included on the CPI because it lacks at least three data sources drawn from 13 different corruption surveys and assessments required by the Index. In Palestine, significant challenges are triggered by the lack of transparency and integrity of government in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. While the Palestinian Legislative Council is out of session, the executive has seized control of the law-making process. In addition to lacking control over budget performance, budget management is severely undermined in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the absence of parliamentary oversight, some political decisions do not necessarily serve the common good, but personal interests.

The UAE remains the highest scorer in the region, but has begun to show worrying signs of decline. While its government has taken steps to increase efficiency in public administration, there is still little transparency, and mechanisms to protect against corruption and other abuses are lacking. Citizens are afraid to criticise the government due to harsh restrictions, and media often self-censors to avoid crackdowns.

The economic structure of Middle Eastern nations are different in the sense that while some nations are heavily dependent on export of only oil and oil-related products (such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait), others have a highly diverse economic base (such as Cyprus, Israel, Turkey and Egypt). Industries of the Middle Eastern region include oil and oil-related products, agriculture, cotton, cattle, dairy, textiles, leather products, surgical instruments, defence equipment (guns, ammunition, tanks, submarines, fighter jets, UAVs, and missiles). Banking is also an important sector of the economies, especially in the case of UAE and Bahrain. While it is primarily spoken in Iran and some border areas in neighbouring countries, the country is one of the region’s largest and most populous. Other Western Iranic languages spoken in the region include Achomi, Daylami, Kurdish dialects, Semmani, Lurish, amongst many others. According to the International Organization for Migration, there are 13 million first-generation migrants from Arab nations in the world, of which 5.8 reside in other Arab countries.

The program also investigates the relationship between oil and gas exporters and importers across MENA, in the role of financial aid and investment, remittances, and labor markets. The Sea of Life features the works of fourteen artists spanning different art forms and generations, exploring their connection to their natural and built environment and the symbolism of water in their lives. The title plays on the concept of ‘The Tree of Life,’ a widespread symbol of life among some cultures and religions. Both the sea and the island’s fresh water springs are linked to its prosperity and regarded as a precious commodity to cherish and preserve, creating a powerful connection between the people of Bahrain and their natural environment. A key introductory text for students of Middle Eastern politics and history at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate levels, this new edition has been extensively updated to also become a timely and significant reference for policy-makers and any motivated reader.

These visions need to be paired with the ability to execute and ensure they deliver the intended benefits for citizens and society. Given official restrictions within the kingdom, many Saudi innovators of new media content operate through YouTube and Twitter; the more daring creative producers include Myrkott, Telfaz11, 8IES, and Uturn. Although the Internet was first introduced to Saudi Arabia in 1999, it has grown rapidly over the last two decades, reaching most of the population. Our Center for Arts & Culture promotes a more integrated understanding of the Middle East, forging people-to-people connections and creating a destination for exploring the role of the arts in the region. MEI’s Strategic Foresight Initiative examines key drivers and dynamics at work in the region, thinks strategically, creatively and rigorously about various scenarios, risks and opportunities, and uses methodologically sound approaches to help decision-makers chart a course forward.

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Government Center for Middle Eastern Studies Such steps, together with continued investments in regional expertise and cross-ministerial coordination, are important in establishing the foundations for a more coordinated German approach to the Middle East. On an EU level, Germany could engage more in the EU-GCC Clean Energy Network that was established in 2010. In addition,…