Achieving Greater Inclusion in post-Arab Spring Countries

The Arab Spring was about political and economic inclusiveness. Three years later, the outcomes of the revolutions have been mixed. In Morocco, the king responded by revising the constitution, carrying out free parliamentary elections and letting the winning party form a new government. In Tunisia, political parties debated on a new constitution for nearly three years and now a neutral government has been appointed to supervise elections. Meanwhile, in Egypt, the struggle between Islamists and secular-nationalists has turned violent, weakening economic growth and increasing unemployment.

On February 11, Global Economy and Development at Brookings hosted a discussion on inclusive growth in the post-Arab Spring countries. The discussion was based on a series of papers on the political economy of the Arab transitions and efforts to foster inclusive growth in the region. The papers were authored by Brookings scholars and their colleagues from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and presented case studies from Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia.