Middle East & North Africa

132 Items

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf during a press conference during the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting being held in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021.

AP Photo/Amr Nabil

Paper - Middle East Initiative, Belfer Center

From #Hashtags to Legislation

    Authors:
  • Oussama Belmejdoub
  • Bilal Diab
  • Samira Kalla
  • Ha Nguyen
  • Abdulla Saif
  • Ivan Yotzov
| February 2023

Ownership of reforms by citizens is often presented as important for success. This paper explores media engagement and support for economic reforms in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries using text analysis techniques on publicly available sources. Results show that while reform efforts have intensified in recent years in the GCC, these efforts tend to focus on stronger rather than weaker policy areas, potentially limiting the growth-enhancing effect of reforms. Social media analysis using Twitter shows that the population’s support for reforms has been declining. The analysis of traditional
news media points to more engagement by international than by local media. However, sentiment from international media is less positive about economic reforms in the GCC. Sentiment in international media and social media matters, as evidenced by its positive and strong correlation with FDI inflows into the GCC.

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Analysis & Opinions - Economic Research Forum

Access to finance for Egypt’s private sector during the pandemic

| May 11, 2021

In response to the global pandemic, public authorities in Egypt responded with a comprehensive package aimed at tackling the health emergency and supporting economic activity. This column examines how private sector firms perceived ease of access to finance before and after the emergence of Covid-19 in 2020.

    Rupiah coins in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.

    Binsar Bakkara/AP

    Analysis & Opinions - Global Policy

    Closing the Equity Financing Gap during the COVID-19 Crisis: The Emergence of Sovereign Wealth Funds with Expiration Dates

    | May 29, 2020

    Juergen Braunstein and Sachin Silva argue that sovereign wealth funds may be central to governments' efforts to balance public responsibility with private interests in post-pandemic economies.

    Paper

    Philanthropy in Evolution: The Foundation Sector in the State of Kuwait

    | June 2019

    Kuwait has a long history of generosity and has been globally recognized for its humanitarian aid and philanthropic giving. The ruling family, the House of Al-Sabah, and merchant families have been prominent philanthropic leaders in Kuwait. More recently, the growth in personal wealth has allowed more individuals to engage in the charitable sector. Philanthropy in the country is becoming more organized, institutionalized, and visible. In turn, the government is increasingly engaged in regulating the sector.

    (Economic Research Forum)

    (Economic Research Forum)

    Journal Article - Economic Research Forum

    Is Oil Wealth Good for Private Sector Development?

    | March, 2019

    When do autocratic rulers in oil-producing countries support private sector development? We argue that the size of oil rents per capita has an important effect on ruler support for the rule of law, respect for private property rights, and other factors that promote private investment.

    U.S. President Donald Trump Speaks During a Press Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 28, 2019.

    Associated Press

    Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

    Trump’s Comments on Otto Warmbier are a Reminder He Doesn’t Prioritize Human Rights

    | Feb. 28, 2019

    The Trump administration has never shown much interest in human rights. Last year, it pulled the United States out of the U.N. Human Rights Council. In 2017, within months of President Trump’s inauguration, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said diplomats should not let human rights values become “obstacles” to achieving national goals. Trump has spoken favorably about some of the world’s most vicious dictators.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow

    AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko

    Journal Article - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

    How the Next Nuclear Arms Race Will Be Different from the Last One

    | 2019

    All the world's nuclear-armed states (except for North Korea) have begun modernizing and upgrading their arsenals, leading many observers to predict that the world is entering a new nuclear arms race. While that outcome is not yet inevitable, it is likely, and if it happens, the new nuclear arms race will be different and more dangerous than the one we remember. More nuclear-armed countries in total, and three competing great powers rather than two, will make the competition more complex. Meanwhile, new non-nuclear weapon technologies — such as ballistic missile defense, anti-satellite weapons, and precision-strike missile technology — will make nuclear deterrence relationships that were once somewhat stable less so.

    Great Decisions Cover

    Foreign Policy Association

    Journal Article - Foreign Policy Association

    The State of the State Department and American Diplomacy

    | Jan. 03, 2019

    During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the State Department have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning. What effect are these changes having now, and how will they affect ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries?