Stanford University

Building Bridges: Towards Viable Democracies in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya

News Type
Commentary
Date
Paragraphs

The fourth annual conference of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD) organized in collaboration with the University of Tunis, El Manar and the Centre d'études maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT), took place in Tunis on March 28 and 29, 2013. The conference theme 'Building Bridges: Towards Viable Democracies in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya' examines the cornerstones of democratic transition in those countries.

The conference engaged leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from all three countries, as well as international experts, to reflect on the process of democratization in those countries from a comparative perspective. The key issues the conference addressed are:

  • Constitution drafting
  • National dialogues and civil society
  • Political coalitions and Islamism
  • Political participation and pluralism
  • Economic policy
  • Arab relations with the USA and Europe
All News button
1

The Lavon Affair: How a false-flag operation led to war and the Israeli bomb

Paragraphs

Abstract

The Lavon Affair, a failed Israeli covert operation directed against Egypt in 1954, triggered a chain of events that have had profound consequences for power relationships in the Middle East; the affair’s effects still reverberate today. Those events included a public trial and conviction of eight Egyptian Jews who carried out the covert operation, two of whom were subsequently executed; a retaliatory military incursion by Israel into Gaza that killed 39 Egyptians; a subsequent Egyptian–Soviet arms deal that angered American and British leaders, who then withdrew previously pledged support for the building of the Aswan Dam; the announced nationalization of the Suez Canal by Nasser in retaliation for the withdrawn support; and the subsequent failed invasion of Egypt by Israel, France, and Britain in an attempt to topple Nasser. In the wake of that failed invasion, France expanded and accelerated its ongoing nuclear cooperation with Israel, which eventually enabled the Jewish state to build nuclear weapons.

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Journal Articles
Publication Date
Journal Publisher
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Authors
Leonard Weiss
External URL

Political Participation and Democratic Transition in the Arab Word

Paragraphs

A paper released by CDDRL Arab Reform and Democracy Program Manager, Lina Khatib addresses the challenges and opportunities for political participation  in Tunisia and Egypt post-Arab Spring. Published in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Khatib argues that while there are challenges following the democratic transitions a new opening for political parties and civil society in the Arab world is in the making.

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Journal Articles
Publication Date
Journal Publisher
University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law
Authors

A discussion about economic formalization in the MENA region

-

Abstract:

Does formalization really matter for developing economies? Informality has been considered as a negative economic factor as it has been associated with low productivity, high barriers to growth (dead capital), low government revenues and lack of access to credit and property rights. The remedy has been often sought in the formalization of informal economic activities, firms, workers and transactions. However, is formalization anyway a good option for development and growth in such hostile institutional settings like the ones existent in most developing countries including the Middle East? Will formalization save small entrepreneurs from rampant corruption, high interest rates, dependent judiciary, and weak rule of law? or are there alternative means to render the present informal settings more productive and developmental?

Speaker Bio:

Amr Adly has a Ph.D. from the European University Institute-Florence, Department of political and social sciences (Date of completion: September 2010). His thesis topic was "The political economy of trade and industrialization in the post-liberalization period: Cases of Turkey and Egypt". The thesis was published by Routledge in December 2012 under the title of State Reform and Development in the Middle East: The Cases of Turkey and Egypt.

He has several other academic publications that have appeared in the Journal of Business and Politics, Turkish Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies, in addition to articles in several other periodicals and newspapers in English and Arabic. 

Before joining Stanford, he worked as a senior researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, heading the unit of social and economic rights, and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat.

At Stanford, he is leading a research project on reforming the regulatory environment governing entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia, which will result in policy papers as well as conferences in the two countries.

Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room

Amr Adly

Encina Hall
616 Serra Street, C145
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

0
ARD Postdoctoral Fellow
Adly_HS.jpg

Amr Adly has a Ph.D. from the European University Institute-Florence, Department of political and social sciences (Date of completion: September 2010). His thesis topic was "The political economy of trade and industrialization in the post-liberalization period: Cases of Turkey and Egypt". The thesis was published by Routledge in December 2012 under the title of State Reform and Development in the Middle East: The Cases of Turkey and Egypt.

He has several other academic publications that have appeared in the Journal of Business and Politics, Turkish Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies, in addition to articles in several other periodicals and newspapers in English and Arabic. 

Before joining Stanford, he worked as a senior researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, heading the unit of social and economic rights, and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat.

At Stanford, he is leading a research project on reforming the regulatory environment governing entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia, which will result in policy papers as well as conferences in the two countries.

CV
Amr Adly ARD Postdoctoral Fellow Speaker CDDRL
Seminars

Political Participation, Pluralism, and Citizenship Rights in the Arab World

Processes of democratic transition in today’s Arab world carry with them both challenges and opportunities for pluralism and citizenship rights, particularly with respect to the political participation of minorities. This project aims to arrive at concrete measures to aid with the political participation of minorities and to support citizenship rights and pluralism in transitioning Arab countries, both through policy-oriented research and through establishing a global action network that facilitates exchanges between scholars, policymakers, and stakeholders, particularly t

Bureaucratic Autonomy and Dysfunctions of the American State

-

Speaker Bio:

Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), resident in FSI's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, effective July 2010. He comes to Stanford from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University, where he was the Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy and director of SAIS' International Development program.

Dr. Fukuyama has written widely on issues relating to questions concerning democratization and international political economy. His book, The End of History and the Last Man, was published by Free Press in 1992 and has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. His most recent books are The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy, and Falling Behind: Explaining the Development Gap between Latin America and the United States.

Francis Fukuyama was born on October 27, 1952. He received his B.A. from Cornell University in classics, and his Ph.D. from Harvard in Political Science. He was a member of the Political Science Department of the RAND Corporation from 1979-1980, then again from 1983-89, and from 1995-96. In 1981-82 and in 1989 he was a member of the Policy Planning Staff of the US Department of State, the first time as a regular member specializing in Middle East affairs, and then as Deputy Director for European political-military affairs. In 1981-82 he was also a member of the US delegation to the Egyptian-Israeli talks on Palestinian autonomy. From 1996-2000 he was Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Professor of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. He served as a member of the President's Council on Bioethics from 2001-2004.

Dr. Fukuyama is chairman of the editorial board of a new magazine, The American Interest, which he helped to found in 2005. He holds honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, Doane College, Doshisha University (Japan), and Kansai University (Japan). He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rand Corporation, member of the Board of Governors of the Pardee Rand Graduate School, and member of the advisory boards for the Journal of Democracy, the Inter-American Dialogue, and The New America Foundation. He is a member of the American Political Science Association and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is married to Laura Holmgren and has three children.

CISAC Conference Room

Francis Fukuyama

Encina Hall, C148
616 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305

0
Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Director of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy
Research Affiliate at The Europe Center
Professor by Courtesy, Department of Political Science
yff-2021-14290_6500x4500_square.jpg

Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and a faculty member of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). He is also Director of Stanford's Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy, and a professor (by courtesy) of Political Science.

Dr. Fukuyama has written widely on issues in development and international politics. His 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man, has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. His book In the Realm of the Last Man: A Memoir will be published in fall 2026.

Francis Fukuyama received his B.A. from Cornell University in classics, and his Ph.D. from Harvard in Political Science. He was a member of the Political Science Department of the RAND Corporation, and of the Policy Planning Staff of the US Department of State. From 1996-2000 he was Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Professor of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, and from 2001-2010 he was Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He served as a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics from 2001-2004. He is editor-in-chief of American Purpose, an online journal.

Dr. Fukuyama holds honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, Doane College, Doshisha University (Japan), Kansai University (Japan), Aarhus University (Denmark), the Pardee Rand Graduate School, and Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland). He is a non-resident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rand Corporation, the Board of Trustees of Freedom House, and the Board of the Volcker Alliance. He is a fellow of the National Academy for Public Administration, a member of the American Political Science Association, and of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is married to Laura Holmgren and has three children.

(October 2025)

Global Populisms

A new project examining the global surge in populist movements and what it means for established democratic rules and institutions.
Read More
CV
Hide publication sections
Off
Date Label
Francis Fukuyama Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow Speaker CDDRL
Seminars

Transitions to Democracy: A Comparative Perspective

Paragraphs

As demonstrated by current events in Tunisia and Egypt, oppressive regimes are rarely immune to their citizens’ desire for democratic government. Of course, desire is always tempered by reality; therefore how democratic demands are made manifest is a critical source of study for both political scientists and foreign policy makers. What issues and consequences surround the fall of a government, what type of regime replaces it, and to what extent are these efforts successful? Kathryn Stoner and Michael McFaul have created an accessible book of fifteen case studies from around the world that will help students understand these complex issues. Their model builds upon Guillermo O’Donnell, Philippe C. Schmitter, and Laurence Whitehead's classic work, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule, using a rubric of four identifying factors that can be applied to each case study, making comparison relatively easy.

Transitions to Democracy yields strong comparisons and insights. For instance, the study reveals that efforts led by the elite and involving the military are generally unsuccessful, whereas mass mobilization, civic groups, and new media have become significant factors in supporting and sustaining democratic actors. This collection of writings by scholars and practitioners is organized into three parts: successful transitions, incremental transitions, and failed transitions. Extensive primary research and a rubric that can be applied to burgeoning democracies offer readers valuable tools and information.

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Books
Publication Date
Journal Publisher
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Authors
Kathryn Stoner
Michael A. McFaul
Beatriz Magaloni
Abbas Milani
Gregory Domber
Ray Jennings
Number
978-1421408149

ARD conference takes place in Tunis, March 28-29

Authors
News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs

The fourth annual conference of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD) organized in collaboration with the University of Tunis, El Manar and the Centre d'études maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT), will take place in Tunis on March 28 and 29, 2013.

This year's conference theme 'Building Bridges: Towards Viable Democracies in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya' examines the cornerstones of democratic transition in those countries.

The conference aims to engage leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from all three countries, as well as international experts, to reflect on the process of democratization in those countries from a comparative perspective. The key issues the conference will address are:

- Constitution drafting
- National dialogues and civil society
- Political coalitions and Islamism
- Political participation and pluralism
- Economic policy
- Arab relations with the USA and Europe

The full conference agenda can be found on our website through the link below, where those interested in attending can also register for the event.

All News button
1

New Stanford project on entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring

Authors
Amr Adly
News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs

The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy is pleased to launch “Entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring”, a new project led by Dr. Amr Adly.

The project addresses a number of questions on the entrepreneurship ecosystem that comprises the legal, institutional, regulatory, and policy frameworks governing the private sector and entrepreneurial activity in Tunisia and Egypt. The research project aims at raising awareness about the ecosystem among those designing international assistance programs as well as informing local stakeholders in Tunisia and Egypt. Key issues affecting businesses in those countries are primarily tackled; how they are more widely affecting the economy and the constituents; and the areas of potential reform.

The principal questions are: What are the barriers to entry and growth that face entrepreneurs in the two countries? How are these barriers related to the institutional, legal and regulatory, and policy mechanisms at work in each country? What changes can be made in the ecosystem that would enable entrepreneurship? What are the policy areas that need to be addressed to support reform?

To answer those questions, the project will address specific research topics such as the process of starting businesses, property rights protection, access to credit and finance, bankruptcy and market exit, corruption and cronyism, public policy quality, education and vocational training together with access to infrastructure, labor and taxation policies and regulations.

The project will primarily rely on fieldwork through conducting surveys via questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with a hundred entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs in Egypt and Tunisia, mainly owner-managers of small-and medium-sized enterprises within both the formal and informal sectors. Such an area has been traditionally under-researched in the Middle East if not in developing countries by and large.

The project aims at the production of action-oriented research, in the form of two country reports with clear policy recommendation that can be used later on for advocacy, campaigning and stakeholder mobilization. This objective implies that the research project maintain dense and dynamic connectedness with the ongoing changes in the two observed countries. Hence, stakeholders in Egypt and Tunisia shall be included in every stage of the development of the policy papers. This will take place through the organization of four roundtables in parallel with the ongoing research—two roundtables will be held in each country. At the final stage, policy reports will be released through holding a conference in Tunisia and Egypt each in January 2014, with the presence of attendants representing different stakeholders within the state, private sector and, civil society, as well as the scholarly community.

 

All News button
1
Subscribe to Egypt