On the fall of the wall of fear
Fully
extracting the “lessons learned” from the popular uprisings or reform processes
in the Arab countries will require the passage of more time, particularly if we
want to distinguish between different experiences, and compare their causes and
forms. Likewise, talking about the uprisings’ proponents requires prudence, in
view of the twisted and thorny paths these various groups and individuals have taken,
and which may result in many detours in the days and years ahead.
However,
a first reading of the historical events of the last few months—especially in
Tunisia and Egypt—can guide us to a few conclusions:
1) The
launching of the revolutionary movements very much required an emotional spark
and acute excitement. This allowed the constraints of self-censorship and internalized,
normalized fear to be smashed, liberating the individual and society from the
symbolic weight of authoritarian institutions.
2) Taking
to the public squares, which previously had been used largely to celebrate the
governing regimes, was instrumental in throwing off the influence of the former
systems. For the first time in decades a political bridge between the public
and private spaces was established, and citizens crossed this first with
defiance, and then with a sense of liberation.
3) The
people are able to peacefully hold out in the streets and persevere, refusing
to be turned away from their objectives, as long as they feel there is an opportunity
on the horizon for even greater accomplishments, as long as they perceive that
the machinery of repression has lost the initiative, or in cases when that
machinery has lost the ability to react with violence in the face of an enormous
popular presence.
4) Information-age
tactics and globalized tools of communication play a critical political role in
the present moment. Satellites circulate images live, while websites and blogs
carry information, news and emotion. Security apparatuses are not strong enough
to suppress these influences as a whole. Social networking websites such as Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube have become effective tools for mobilization. Mobile phones
with cameras and SMS have been transformed into weapons of paramount
importance, making it difficult to control or arrest the bearers. Instantaneous
transmission generates immediate cross-border sympathy with the events, without
the delays necessary during uprisings in the past.
5) Regimes
fearing contagion in their own countries are forced to announce measures and
reforms in order to contain popular anger and avoid similar scenarios.
6) The
popular sense of humor becomes an empowering political factor that publically
deconstructs the “serious” character of the patriarchal and repressive
authorities after long being only a private refuge to hide one’s frustrations
and fears from the public “reality.”
7) Urbanization
proves to be one major factor in the consolidation of large-scale popular (and
especially youth) mobilization, in the sense that living in one territorial
continuity (which differs from rural or desert conditions) allows contacts to
develop, word of events to spread immediately, and direct interaction to take
place.
However,
the course of events in the near future remains unclear, and a number of
questions remain unanswered:
1) Will
we witness processes of “rapid” democratic transformation, producing elected
authorities according to new electoral laws, governing with a separation of
powers and a respect for the constitution and the rule of law? Or are we facing
a transitional phase that may drag on, with possible changes in the balance of
power, leaving the army or elements of the old political elite to play central
roles?
2) What
role is to be played in the future by the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly in
Egypt, and what will the profound changes underway mean if the Brotherhood gains
enough support to provoke anxiety among some of their partners in the popular
uprisings, let alone among actors outside the region? Will models inspired by
the Turkish experience be adopted, or are we still facing more conservative
political cultures?
3) How
will the secular parties and the new social movements emerging from the street
activism develop alliances and political agendas allowing them to play important
roles in the transitional period and prepare for the first free elections?
4) What
foreign policy positions will the new and emerging governments adopt? What
impact will the new national dynamics have on regional relations and political
environments?
The
following thoughts are an attempt to do precisely this. They are divided into
three sets of policies: the first is related to institutional capacity
building, the second to economic cooperation, and the third to support for civil
society causes and initiatives.
Institutional
capacity-building
Among
the most important challenges facing Arab countries today is the reconstruction
of democratic institutions able to ensure the separation of powers, the
independence of the judiciary and the professionalism of the police and
security apparatus.
What
the European Union could do in these domains is hence related to:
•
Providing expertise to committees drafting new electoral laws in such a way as
to establish free elections and a fair representation of political forces in
each country. Such laws will strengthen the legitimacy of parliaments, and will
give the legislative authority the popular credibility necessary to assert itself
as an important state institution, and to play the crucial roles that
parliaments should play in democracies.
•
Helping to bring together judges and legal advisors to draft new legislation promoting
the independence of the judiciary. If confidence between citizens and the legal
system is to be rebuilt, it must be shown that this system can be efficient and
independent, and that the rule of law can be restored by means of its various bodies.
•
Training the police and security corps on the basis of loyalty to state
institutions and constitutional political principles. The roles of the police
and the security forces in Arab societies must be changed. Old roles were based
primarily on loyalty to regimes and the enforcement of authoritarian policies,
culture and practices. Changing this security-services culture and developing
human rights education programs within the police and security academies—as well
as creating legal consequences for violations of these rights—would help
citizens overcome their old perceptions of the police and security apparatus,
and would force the apparatus itself to respect laws and rights in its
operations.
These
three things are critical: restoring confidence in the parliament as a
representative political and legislative body, in the judiciary as an
independent institution protecting the rule of law, and in the police and
security forces as defenders of the state, the public order and the stability
of the society. Taken together, they would lead to a radical change in the
public’s understanding of politics, and of the roles of the various authorities
as they deal with or represent citizens. Accomplishing these goals would also
influence the work of the executive authorities, making them accountable to
parliaments and creating a more balanced relationship between the branches of
power.
Economic cooperation and
transparency
In societies characterized by young
populations, and by a need to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs every
year in order to absorb new workforce entrants, efforts to reshape economic
policies and restructure the various economic sectors are of extreme
importance. For this reason, the development of new frameworks for economic
cooperation with public and private sector organizations should be a priority,
not only for the direct benefits that such cooperation would provide, but also in
the interest of long-run stability and prosperity in the societies concerned.
Incentives, joint projects,
vocational training and specialized initiatives could be designed, and
investments developing the national economies and enlarging their social bases
could be made. This would diminish immigration pressures, social tensions and
poverty, and would allow for the emergence of more dynamic economic sectors.
Geographic decentralization of
projects in the “recipient countries” (in order to create job opportunities in
different cities and regions), diversification of activities across a number of
productive sectors, and above all transparency and corporate social
responsibility should replace old practices, in which short-term profits
motivated many of the economic actors on both sides of the mediterranean, allowing
corruption and clientelism to reduce the positive impact of projects and funds.
Economic cooperation goes beyond
direct (or short-term) impact. It is related to security, immigration, ethics
and long-term partnerships that can encourage creativity, human development and
trust.
Monitoring such cooperative
frameworks on both sides would lead to a more efficient management of
resources, and to a culture of social responsibility that is highly needed in
this new chapter of regional relationships.
Civil society, women’s rights
and human rights monitoring
The Arab spring has been
characterized by the active participation of women and civil society actors. It
is thus important to support these actors, and to establish – in cooperation
with them – oversight bodies that can monitor, promote and respect democratic
and human rights values and principles. To this end, the European Union could
develop programs to strengthen:
• Civil society
institutions, through training programs and the sharing of expertise in
lobbying, campaigning and alliance-building in defense of local, professional
or national interests. This is of crucial importance in a phase during which new
laws and constitutional amendments will be written and passed, and elections will
be taking place.
• Women’s rights, through
helping women’s movements (and other movements working on gender issues) to develop
agendas for reforms preventing the exclusion or marginalization of women. Such
agendas would be in line with the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) agreement that most Arab countries have
signed (but none has fully respected), and would include mechanisms for follow-up
and evaluation. The Arab spring is about justice, freedom and dignity, and
women should not be forgotten in the emerging political processes.
• Monitoring of democracy
and human rights, through supporting the establishment of independent
bodies, as well as agreements between state and civil society actors to make
annual measurements or evaluations of public discourses and practices, laws,
media programming, security services activities, women’s participation, and
other societal indicators. These oversight bodies could play important roles in
monitoring and then recommending policies and measures in the
post-revolutionary or post-reform transitional phases.
Finally, the European Union
should engage in significant efforts aimed at supporting the democratic
transitions and avoiding any “setbacks” during transitional phases. The EU and
the Arab countries – especially those of North Africa – should seize the historical
opportunity now presented to build new partnerships, establish confidence, and do
away with clichés and misperceptions within their societies. This would open
the way for more effective cooperation on many levels, and would gradually eliminate
the bitterness that has long characterized relationships between the various capitals
within this vital space that is the Mediterranean basin and its diverse geopolitical
units.
Ziad Majed
To read the full publication on Europe and North Africa by the Bertlesmann foundation, in which the text was published, click here.
