Democratic Transition Publications
Women in Democratic Transitions in the MENA Region
Mar 14, 2013The Rabat Conference in November 2012 was hosted by the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior in partnership with the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Wellesley Centers for Women with support from Lynn and Bob Johnston. UN Women, UNDP, and the International Republican Institute provided valuable collaboration. Through this compilation of papers based on discussions at the conference, we celebrate the call for women’s centrality in the constitutional making processes and the negotiation processes involved in strengthening the rule of law in the MENA region.
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SEGURIDAD DEMOCRÁTICA: DE LAS PROPUESTAS A LA IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS
Mar 14, 2013As part of a series of activities supported by the Andean Development Corporation (Corporación Andina de Fomento, CAF) the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Latin American Program and the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) of Argentina sponsored a conference in Buenos Aires on citizen security in the Southern Cone. more
Peña Nieto’s Cabinet: What Does It Tell Us About Mexican Leadership?
Mar 12, 2013An analysis of cabinet leadership in Mexico has always provided insights into political recruitment trends for the policy-making leadership in general. This essay briefly analyzes the backgrounds of the twenty-two cabinet secretaries and important cabinet-level agencies, and the president, and compares them with equivalent leadership, where appropriate, from three prior presidential periods. Those consist of the cabinet members from the pre-democratic era, 1935-1988, from the democratic transition, 1988-2000, and from the democratic era, 2000-2013. more
Africa’s Long Spring
Jan 23, 2013Long before it came to the Arab world, spring swept through sub-Saharan Africa. In 1990, Mozambique drafted its first multiparty, democratic constitution. The next year saw multiparty elections in what had been one-party states in Benin, Gabon, and Zambia, as well as the overthrow of Mali’s dictator and, subsequently, the election of new leaders. Every succeeding year brought new steps forward for democracy—in Ghana, Kenya, and the Republic of the Congo in 1992, and elsewhere on the continent in subsequent years. The world only paid attention when South Africa joined the ranks of democratic nations in 1994. more
Legacies of a Lost Empire: Unresolved Territorial and Identity Problems in the Post-Soviet Era
Jan 22, 2013
Women’s Rights Under Egypt’s Constitutional Disarray
Jan 16, 2013Egypt’s post-revolution constitution does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender or religion. It only recognizes women’s domestic role within a family “founded on religion, morality, and patriotism.” Clerics will have the final word over the new laws. more
In 2013, Rise of the Right in Elections Across the Mideast
Jan 03, 2013In 2013, millions of Israelis, Iranians, and Arabs will vote in at least 10 pivotal elections that will, in turn, address basic issues facing the Middle East. These countries have vast political, religious, ethnic, and economic differences. But most confront a common trend—the rise of the right or the religious right—that will influence elections as well as policies both at home and in the broader region. more
In the Lurch Between Government and Chaos: Unconsolidated Democracy in Mexico
Jan 01, 2013To move forward, reforms must be ambitious. Simply reforming one institution in a sea of lawlessness leads nowhere; there must be a wide-ranging transformation of the political regime. Mexico's challenge is therefore to build modern, competent democratic institutions that are capable of engaging in good governance - only then will they be able to expand economic opportunity and restore economic growth. more
Has the Arab Spring Lived Up to Expectations?
Dec 17, 2012On the occasion of the second anniversary of the Arab Spring, the Middle East Program (MEP) invited a group of experts from the region, Europe, and the United States to contribute to this publication by answering the question, “Has the Arab Spring Lived Up to Expectations?”
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