The Project on Middle East Democracy and Development

The Project on Middle East Democracy and Development (MEDD) aims to forge a new consensus on behalf of constructive American engagement for change in the Middle East. The nations of the Middle East face looming challenges that require urgent attention. A growing understanding in the region on the urgency of reform has not, however, produced agreement on priorities or on the appropriate means to achieve corresponding changes in politics, economics and society. Instead, debate over solutions is stifled by oppressive political structures, official and unofficial intimidation, and by the stranglehold of vested interests in the status quo. Thus, in this strategically crucial region of the world, political liberalization is intimately intertwined with economic and social development.

The Project on Middle East Democracy and Development aims to address this challenge. Led by Tamara Cofman Wittes, the project is built on the premise that economic, social and political reform must be discussed and advanced together. Pairing political and economic analysis and bringing together American, regional, and European activists and analysts, the Project on Middle East Democracy and Development will help build an informed understanding on strategies that have and have not worked in support of political and economic reform in the Middle East. These insights will strengthen the efforts of regional reformers as they seek to define a more effective course for change. Donor governments and others supporting reform will benefit from a better understanding of how to target their resources and manage complex transitions in the Middle East. The result will be more effective strategies to underpin political and economic development, prevent backsliding, and create space for moderate political voices to counter Islamist extremism.

The Project’s main activities for 2008 include:

• The Democracy Assistance Monitoring Project, which tracks and analyzes U.S. government spending to advance reform in the Middle East;

• The Task Force on Democracy and Development, which convenes leading scholars, practitioners and policy makers throughout the year to discuss important questions related to regional reform; and

• The Analysis Paper Series, which includes studies on upgrading authoritarianism, by Steven Heydemann, democracy and civil society in Jordan, by Sameer Jarrah, and the future of the Freedom Agenda, by Tamara Cofman Wittes.

Project Staff:
Tamara Cofman Wittes, Project Director and Senior Fellow
Suzanne Maloney, Senior Fellow
Sameer Jarrah, Patkin Visiting Fellow (March – June 2007)
Khalil al-Anani, Patkin Visiting Fellow (May – September 2008)
Andrew Masloski, Senior Research Assistant