Content

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

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
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

Issue Brief

Sep 28, 2022

Privacy in cross-border digital currency: A transatlantic approach

By Giulia Fanti and Nadia Pocher

As a growing number of countries explore Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) for the domestic context, multi-country cross-border CBDCs pilots are also proliferating. Cross-border CBDCs could make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and simpler.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

Issue Brief

Sep 27, 2022

The international role of the euro and the dollar: Forever in the lead?

By Martin Mühleisen

This paper argues that this is unlikely for the foreseeable future, in part because a larger global role for the renminbi would be inconsistent with the Chinese leadership’s current policy priorities. However, there is no room for complacency.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy
western currency dominance cover

Issue Brief

Sep 27, 2022

Will economic statecraft threaten western currency dominance? Sanctions, geopolitics, and the global monetary order 

By Dr. Carla Norrlöf

The return of great power rivalry is stoking renewed fears of weakening Western currency dominance. Financial sanctions are becoming the preferred economic tool for accomplishing geopolitical goals.

China Economic Sanctions