Research Library

This brief sets out some of the major structural reforms to taxes, subsidies, and debt issuance in the GCC that are shifting financial burdens from the state to its citizens and residents.

By Marwan Muasher, Ph.D., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The author explores reform efforts and identifies challenges in Jordan following the Arab Spring. The brief is part of a two-year project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

By Mounira M. Charrad and Maro Youssef The authors discuss the evolution of women’s associations in Tunisia from the Ben Ali regime to the post-Arab Spring period in this Baker Institute blog: https://bit.ly/2NyRZjl

The current leaders of Egypt and Saudi Arabia are trying to assert much more political control over their respective country's religious institutions. The lesson both regimes seem to have taken away from the Arab upheavals is not the necessity of pluralism, but instead the need for more regimentation, hierarchy, control, and exclusion.

By Laila Elimam Protests erupted in Jerada, Morocco, after the deaths of two brothers who were killed in the nearby abandoned mines. Research associate Laila Elimam examines this event and the response of the Moroccan legislature.

Morocco's Justice and Development Party attempts to preserve its leading political position by presenting itself as an alternative to a system that, according to the PJD, is corrupt and morally bankrupt.

Morocco's monarchy preserves its power by maintaining a balance among the country’s 33 political parties, preventing the emergence of a strong party, and further dividing an already fragmented political elite. The author examines how the Justice and Development Party (PJD) has survived and grown under such constraints.

The authors examine new legislation in Tunisia aimed at increasing protections for women, such as repealing the country’s “marry-your-rapist” law as well as criminalizing marital rape and domestic violence.

In an age of populism and authoritarian entrenchment, the author explores whether the PJD is at the vanguard of democracy in Morocco.

Contrary to expectations, the relationship between Ennahdha and the Salafis in Tunisia was destined for failure. The authors explain why, but note that the reasons young people looked to Salafism for revolutionary purity and inspiration remain. Those interested in the stability of Tunisia's regime should not take the defeat of Salafism for granted, they write.