The Arab Spring five years later - Toward Greater Inclusiveness (Bookzcity)

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The Arab revolutions of 2010–11 were earth-shaking events that completely changed the sociopolitical landscape in this part of the world. Of course what happens in the Arab world has an impact on the rest of humanity through variables such as oil prices, migration, and violence. Therefore, in March 2012 a group of Brookings scholars published a monograph entitled After the Spring: Economic Transitions in the Arab World. There we argued that the Arab transition to democracy will be long and tortuous with many twists and turns along the way. We said that successful economic transition is necessary for a successful political transition. Specifically, we concluded that four main economic transitions—each with its own short- and long-term strategies—are needed in the region. These include: (1) expanding opportunities for young people; (2) building a modern state; (3) transforming the private sector; and (4) expanding global and regional integration.

The research carried out at the Brookings Institution emphasized that these transitions must be addressed in a holistic way by framing a broad, long-term economic strategy to create expectations that growth, fairness, equity, and economic justice will play major roles in the transition to a new economy. It was clear that the Arab countries in transition were at a critical juncture. The two or three years following the eruption of the Arab Spring would determine whether they would move to an “inclusive” political and economic system that fosters growth and social development, or revert back to an “extractive” system, where elites appropriate rents and power and exclude the majority of the population from participation in decisionmaking and from sharing economic benefits.