WASHINGTON – The Institute of Peace launched a new project as part of its Muslim World Initiative, entitled “Challenges to Genuine Democratization in the Arab World.” Under the direction of Daniel Brumberg, Special Advisor to Institute, this project explores the risks, costs and benefits of Arab states moving beyond state control to genuine democratization.

The project examines key Arab states that have begun to experiment with political liberalization through the political system, media independence, intellectual debate, and the move from full autocracy to some limited experimentation with releasing state control over all aspects of society. These states make up the majority of the Arab world and include Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Yemen—all of which are at differing stages of political liberalization. In addition, the project will explore the cases of Turkey and Indonesia, which bring the added Islamic dimensions to the question of democratization. The overall goal of the project is to bring diverging views and approaches together to look at capacity building in the Arab world, what it will take for genuine democratization to take root, and the implications of the latter question for American democracy-promotion in the Arab World.

According to Brumberg, "This is the first project to bring together a team of scholars to collectively examine the specific challenges these countries face and possible ways forward. The six experts who make up this team are leading scholars in the study of democratic transitions who have pursued grass roots research in the Arab world—this combination of theoretical sophistication, first hand empirical knowledge, and close attention to policy issues makes this a truly unique and promising project.”

The project was launched last month with a major conference on “The Transition from Liberalized Autocracy: New Options for Promoting Democracy in the Arab World.” The next milestone in the project will be the release of a Special Report in the fall of 2005.

For more information on the project or for a full report on the first conference, contact Nicholas Howenstein in the Research and Studies Program at nhowenstein@usip.org. For more information about the Institute of Peace or to contact one of its specialists, please contact the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at (202) 429-3832 or at publicaffairs@usip.org.