Latest News Events

Transformation in the MENA region

The IDCR is monitoring and watching the developments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

These countries are in many ways a set of ‘least likely’ cases to experience the kinds of changes that have been on our TV screens, iPads, and computers for the last month or so. There are least likely, since prevailing expectations drawn on some theories of democratization would suggest that they would be highly unlikely to go through such rapid transformations.

Yet, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya have undergone profound changes owing to mass popular mobilizations that have or are seeking to oust their incumbent regimes from power. The cases are more examples of how social mobilization is possible under authoritarian conditions, and that such mobilization can and does lead to significant political change. We are equally fascinated with the role that technology has played in these transformations, where the diffusion of ideas movd quickly from Tunis to Cairo to Tripoli.

The world waits for what kind of change will occur as well as what form the new politics of the region will take. Naturally, it is our hope that these and other countries in the region embrace democracy and respect for human rights.

For an interesting set of perspectives on the current situation in the region, please see the Roundtable at Human Rights and Human Welfare HERE

US Cultural Attaché visits IDCR

As part of a day long visit to the University of Essex, Karen Huntress, Assistant Cultural Attaché from the US State Department met with IDCR Director Professor Todd Landman and Dr Tom Scotto from the Department of Government.

Ms. Huntress is talking to Essex students in class, giving a public lecture on Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy, and is conducting a special meeting with Egyptian students to discuss the developments taking place in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.