Since 2012, the Stimson Center, in partnership with the George C. Marshall Foundation, has explored the dynamics of the Arab spring, and how the processes of peaceful change and transition have affected the wider region. The project Pathways to Progress: Peace, Prosperity, and Change in the Middle East is the focal point of our efforts, identifying key components of the Marshall Plan and the post-World War II transformation of Europe that may be relevant to today’s Arab world. In 2015, the project is focused on assessing prospects for improved regional economic cooperation, and on identifying smart strategies for economic growth as a source of political stability. Engaging like-minded public policy thinkers and private sector actors, the project seeks to highlight new thinking and creative solutions in the region, promoting an active dialogue between the United States and the Arab world in which new ideas and innovative thinking flow in both directions.
Arab Transitions Analysis
Arab Transitions News
Mona Yacoubian is quoted in the New York Times on the status of the Arab transitions – August 14, 2013 Click here to read more.
Mona Yacoubian is quoted in Inter Press Service News story on U.S. policy toward Egypt – August 15, 2013 Click here to read more.
Geneive Abdo is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald on recent developments in Egypt – August 2, 2013 Click here to read more.
Geneive Abdo is quoted on the Egyptian crisis The National – July 9, 2013 Click here to read more.
Genieve Abdo is quoted on NBC News on the impace of cutting aid to Egypt – July 8, 2013 Click here to read more.
Geneive Abdo is quoted in the Toronto Star on divisions in Egypt – July 8, 2013 Click here to read more.
Mona Yacoubian served as an international election observer as part of the National Democratic Institute’s observer mission for Jordan’s January 23rd Parliamentary elections. Click here to read more.
Ellen Laipson was one of the panelists at the Wilson Center’s “Defining American Priorities in the Middle East” on November 20, 2012. Click here to watch.
Ellen Laipson spoke at the Middle East Institute Conference on “U.S.-Mideast Diplomacy in Transition: New Era, New Principles” on November 14, 2012. Click here to watch.
Ellen Laipson was one of the panelists on an Al Jazeera post-election show on the topic of “What’s Next” on November 7, 2012. Click here to watch.
Mona Yacoubian participated in KQED Radio’s public affairs program Forum to discuss the aftermath of recent unrest in the Middle East and the broader Muslim world and its implication for the ongoing Arab transitions. Click here to listen.
Mona Yacoubian was quoted by Reuters on September 17, 2012, about the U.S. approach to the growing number of foreign jihadi fighters in the Syrian crisis. Click here to read the article.
Mona Yacoubian discusses the continuing crisis in Syria on Encounter, a VOA news radio program on September 14, 2012. Click here to listen.
Arab Transitions Publications
The Arab Spring and Climate Change
February 2013, Stimson Center
“The Arab Spring and Climate Change” does not argue that climate change caused the revolutions that have shaken the Arab world over the past two years. But the essays collected in this slim volume make a compelling case that the consequences of climate change are stressors that can ignite a volatile mix of underlying causes that erupt into revolution.
Seismic Shift: Understanding Change in the Middle East,
May 2011, Stimson Center
The momentous events sweeping the Arab world since late 2010 raise important questions about the art and science of analyzing political and societal events. In an age of information surplus, which creates the illusion that one can easily know what is happening anywhere in the world, big surprises still occur. Societies change, governments make choices that have consequences, and the political life of a country or a region is transformed.
Arab Transitions Events
“Prospects for Greater Economic Integration in the Maghreb,” with Ghazi Ben Ahmed, November 26, 2012
“Aiding the Arab Transitions: US Economic Engagement with Egypt,” October 3, 2012
“Religious Dimensions of the Arab Springs,” with Dr. Aref Ali Nayed, October 1, 2012
“Tunisia’s Current Political Trends and the Future of US-Tunisian Relations,” with Sheik Mourou, September 27,2012
“Economic Consequences of the Arab Spring,” with Francis Ghiles, April 20, 2012
“Arab Countries in Transition: An Update on International Support One Year after the Deauville Partnership,” April 9, 2012