Research Library

By Daniel L. Tavana, Princeton University The evolution of Kuwaiti opposition groups following changes to Kuwait's electoral law fundamentally altered the dynamics of electoral contests after the Arab Spring, the author writes.

Emerging scholarship on economic and sustainable development in the Gulf is presented in this report, which is the result of a workshop in London organized by the Baker Institute and Chatham House. The work is part of a two-year project on "Building Pluralistic and Inclusive States Post-Arab Spring" funded by the Carnegie Corporation. 

Procedural reforms can further advance the development of start-ups in Bahrain, writes the author in this evaluation of the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Turkey's recent elections brought an unexpectedly strong win for President Recep Erdogan. Even so, opposition parties have a rare opportunity to influence policymaking, writes Middle East Fellow A.Kadir Yildirim in the Baker Institute Blog:  https://bit.ly/2txuhMm

Treating intestinal worm infections leads to improved human development and childhood education, shows a study by Center for Health & Biosciences postdoctoral fellow SuJin Kang and fellows Peter Hotez and Farhan Majid.

In June 2018, Saudi Arabia finally put an end to its legal ban on women driving, opening the way for millions of new drivers to navigate across a country three times bigger than Texas. While the long-overdue policy shift provides relief to women who lacked freedom of mobility, the onset of so many new drivers has enormous consequences for transportation and the energy sector, as well as labor market participation and public health.

This report analyzes the dynamics of the PJD’s role in Morocco’s changing political landscape and examines whether the promise of inclusive politics is borne out by the evidence. In doing so, it pays attention to the PJD’s relationship with the monarchy, its strategy to address constraints posed by the king, and its engagement with the electorate.

Morocco's Justice and Development Party attempts to preserve its leading political position by presenting itself as an alternative to a system that, according to the PJD, is corrupt and morally bankrupt.

Morocco's monarchy preserves its power by maintaining a balance among the country’s 33 political parties, preventing the emergence of a strong party, and further dividing an already fragmented political elite. The author examines how the Justice and Development Party (PJD) has survived and grown under such constraints.

The authors examine new legislation in Tunisia aimed at increasing protections for women, such as repealing the country’s “marry-your-rapist” law as well as criminalizing marital rape and domestic violence.