What have we learned from transitions in Europe and the CIS and do they matter for the Arab Regions: Some Reflections Based on Empirical Evidence?
“At the beginning of 2014, more than three years after the start of the political uprising against the authoritarian regimes in the Arab world called the Arab Spring, there is no longer doubt that geopolitical and socio-economic context of the Arab revolution appeared to be different, in many respects, from that of former Soviet bloc countries” – claimed CASE Fellow, Marek Dabrowski, during the First Arab States Regional South-South Development Expo, which was organized by United Nations in Doha, Qatar. According to him, the European states, in their effort to gain full independence, found themselves in the privileged position, because they possessed relatively fresh historical and institutional memories of the rule of law, political pluralism, and some other elements of liberal democracy. Moreover, their geographical and cultural ties with Western Europe were relatively close, and they became eligible to apply for membership in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Arab countries, on the other hand, “cannot rely even on such weak historical and external anchors”. Most of them inherited historical and institutional legacy of the Ottoman Empire and, in some cases, were influenced by the institutions of colonial powers. Interestingly enough, although the importance of public ownership in many Arab countries grew quite rapidly, nationalization policies never went as far as they did in the countries of the former Soviet bloc. The most important sectors of the Arab economies, such as agriculture, trade, services, and small and medium size manufacturing, remained largely in private hands, even in the most ‘socialist’ countries.
Given that, a relevance of post-communist transition for Arab countries and reform advice based on that experience can be only partial. Perhaps experience of other emerging market economies in their transition to democracy and market oriented reforms can be of equal or even higher value, dr Dabrowski argued. The most important claim that dr. Dabrowski made was that that despite the differences, learning from others’ experience (both positive and negative), including that of CEE and CIS region, may be a useful exercise, especially if the differences between regions are not forgotten.
We also encourage you to read the paper by dr. Dabrowski, Transition experiences of Europe and CIS: an overview and opportunities for cross-regional sharing with the Arab States, which can be downloaded here.
