Washington Post Columnist David Ignatius quotes Rafik Hariri Center Acting Director Danya Greenfield and Nonresident Senior Fellow Duncan Pickard in a piece examining democratic transitions across the Middle East and North Africa:

Tunisia has written a new constitution that could be a breakthrough for Arab democracy. Among other provisions, it commits the state to attempt “parity between men and women in elected assemblies.” According to Duncan Pickard, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center who has studied the Arab constitution-writing process, this is “perhaps the most progressive constitutional article regarding equal gender representation in the world.” […]

Yemen, too, has fostered a national dialogue to bridge internal divisions. Like so many Arab nations, Yemen is riven by sectarian, ethnic and regional conflict — which makes a direct transition to democracy very difficult. Thus, the logic of dialogue: “At its core, the dialogue presented an opportunity for non-traditional actors, new political forces, and marginalized communities to weigh in on the future of the country,” wrote Danya Greenfield of the Hariri Center in a recent post.

Read the full article here. Read the full article here.

Related Experts: