Content

Report

Oct 7, 2022

How the Ukraine war has affected the MENA region’s pursuit of governance reforms

By Alissa Pavia and Lorenzo Fruganti

The geopolitical transformations of the last decade, combined with knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine, are impacting Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries’ respective domestic efforts to implement socioeconomic reforms.

Middle East North Africa

Report

Oct 7, 2022

Egypt’s “new” capital: Reshaping the future to erase the past

By Hafsa Halawa

In recent years, Egypt has fallen into resignation of its social, economic, and political trajectory.

Middle East North Africa

Report

Oct 7, 2022

The MENA region’s uneasy path towards reforms

By Karim Mezran, Valeria Talbot, Alissa Pavia, Lorenzo Fruganti, Eleonora Ardemagni, Andrew Farrand, Alessia Melcangi and Hafsa Halawa

Decade-old geopolitical transformations have impacted the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) states’ efforts to implement socioeconomic reforms. More recently, the Ukraine war’s reverberations are also likely to affect the MENA countries’ paths towards such reforms.

Middle East North Africa

Report

Oct 7, 2022

Tunisia: The populist drift of Saied and the looming socioeconomic crisis

By Alessia Melcangi

Even before the conflict in Ukraine, the liberal state model looked much less attractive for the broader Middle East region than it had only a decade earlier, at the height of the Arab Spring.

Middle East North Africa

Report

Oct 7, 2022

Boom and bust: Can Algeria break the cycles of its past?

By Andrew G. Farrand

In dire straits just a year ago, Algeria’s leaders show a new swagger today that might suggest the country has turned a corner.

Middle East North Africa

Report

Oct 7, 2022

The GCC in the global power cycle: The reform-security nexus

By Eleonora Ardemagni

On reforms and good governance, the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have little to worry about in the current global power cycle, which is shaping an order definitely less Western-centred, and more Eastern-oriented, if compared with the 2010s. National economic goals, rather than foreign policy alliances, traditionally drive top-down reforms in GCC states, including  those with an impact on social and individual freedoms.

Middle East North Africa
The Data Divide

Report

Oct 5, 2022

The data divide: How emerging technology and its stakeholders can influence the fourth industrial revolution

By Joseph T. Bonivel Jr., Solomon Wise

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is highlighted by the interconnection of devices and sensors to the internet. The computing and communication capabilities of these devices allow for roughly 2.5 quintillion byes of data to be produced, stored, and analyzed daily.

Technology & Innovation

Report

Oct 3, 2022

Pakistan sees growing culture of innovation amid tech startup boom

By Hamna Tariq and Uzair Younus

A tightening global macro environment coupled with increasing domestic political instability is a cause of concern for the sector, especially the domestic startup economy.

Economy & Business Entrepreneurship

Report

Sep 27, 2022

Afghanistan under the Taliban: Regional recalibrations, challenges, and ways forward

By Hameed Hakimi

Despite the spectacular and unprecedented events following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the global spotlight steadily shifted away from the country.

Afghanistan Economy & Business

Report

Sep 27, 2022

The economic impact of a more efficient US-Mexico border: How reducing wait times at land ports of entry would promote commerce, resilience, and job creation

By Alejandro Brugués Rodríguez, John Byrd, Noé Arón Fuentes Flores, David Gaytan, John Gibson, Camila Hernández, Mayra Maldonado, Jason Marczak, Jorge Eduardo Mendoza Cota, Roberto Ransom, and Ignacia Ulloa

Improvements in border management and the adoption of new technologies at the US-Mexico border have the potential to enhance border security and generate economic benefits for the United States and Mexico through expedited flows of goods and people.

Economy & Business Latin America