June 11th, 2008 by Sarah

The June edition of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Arab Reform Bulletin is now available.  This month’s edition features an interview with Egyptian blogger, Sandmonkey, and articles by Ibrahim Gharaibeh, Moataz El Fegiery, and Andrew Ng.

Sandmonkey discusses the role of the internet in mobilizing Egypt’s dissenting voices, the political attitude of Egypt’s youth, and the recent food protests in Cairo.  “We live in a controlled society with an oppressive government, so expressing an opinion is asking for trouble. The only place you can do it safely is on the internet.”

Ibrahim Gharaibeh addresses the development of divisions in Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood. “It is clear that the Jordanian Islamist movement still is at risk of splintering. Divisions that were once seen mostly at the leadership level have now penetrated the movement in a much deeper way.”

Moataz El Fegiery discusses why most national human rights institutions in the Arab World, outside of Morocco and Palestine, have been unable to establish legitimacy. Because of the deterioration of democratization efforts and strained relationships between authorities and civil societies, these institutions have not been able to improve the status of human rights.  “Only if [these institutions] are permitted to play their rightful role in mobilizing public opinion, communicating with civil society, and in turn pressing governments, will their work move beyond an academic exercise that any scholarly institution could undertake.”

Andrew Ng is concerned about the implications of a new political movement in Morocco. The Movement for All Democrats advocates for political reform, but the pressing question is whether the movement “will channel its energy toward engaging and strengthening the parliament or bypass it” and focus on the King instead. Ng warns that “the more the MAD behaves like a royally-blessed association dismissive of parliament, the more it will reinforce the political status quo.”

For the full Arab Reform Bulletin, click here.

Posted in Egypt, Human Rights, Jordan, Morocco, Muslim Brotherhood, Reform, Technology |