A New Paradigm: Perspectives on the Changing Mediterranean

A New Paradigm: Perspectives on the Changing Mediterranean Edited by Sasha Toperich and Andy Mullins Center for Transatlantic Relations Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Johns Hopkins University 1 Sasha Toperich and Andy Mullins, A New Paradigm: Perspectives on the Changing Mediterranean Washington, DC: Center for Transatlantic Relations, 2014 © Center for Transatlantic Relations, 2014 Center for Transatlantic Relations The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The Johns Hopkins University 1717 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 525 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: (202) 663 – 5880 Fax: (202) 663 – 5879 Email: [email protected] http://transatlantic.sais-jhu.edu ISBN 13: 9780989029483 Cover illustration by Peggy Irvine 2 A New Paradigm: Perspectives on the Changing Mediterranean Sasha Toperich and Andy Mullins, Editors Acknowledgements Preface Daniel Hamilton Introduction Sasha Toperich and Andy Mullins Regional Integration and Cooperation in North Africa Tunisia’s Awakening Economy: A Trilateral Vision to Incentivize Reforms Ghazi Ben Ahmed Libya Deserves Better Ghazi Ben Ahmed and Amel Awni Dajani An Alternative for Improving Human Security in the Middle East and North Africa Aylin Ünver Noi North Africa Awakening: New Hopes for Faster Inclusive Growth Ghazi Ben Ahmed and Slim Othmani Post-Arab Spring Security Challenges and Responses Libya: The Major Security Concern in Africa? Olivier Guitta The Arab Spring and Egypt’s Open Season against Women Emily Dyer Comparative Transitions: The Arab Spring in Local and International Context Looking for Lessons: What Transitions from across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Can Offer the Middle East Edward P. Joseph Lebanon’s Arab Spring: The Cedar Revolution Nine Years On Rupert Sutton 3 Migration and Diaspora Europe’s ‘Rio Grande’: (Im)mobility in the Mediterranean Leila Hadj-Abdou The Mediterranean Diasporas’ Role: Another Pathway to Prosperity? Andy Mullins Women and the Mediterranean: Opportunities and Challenges for Gender Equality Libyan Women: Past, Present and Future Intisar Azzuz UN Security Council Resolution 1325 – “Women, Peace, and Security” Samra Filipović-Hadžiabdić Women’s Entrepreneurship in North Africa: Looking into the Western Balkans’ Experience Dajana Džindo Is the Development of Women Entrepreneurship in the Nordic States an Inspiration for Women in North Africa? Marianne Aringberg Laanatza and Camilla af Hällström Glass Ceilings and Constitutional Barriers: Challenges to Effective Political Participation by Women and Others in Bosnia and Herzegovina Valery Perry Early Marriages in Morocco Anissa Naqrachi Tunisian Women: Political Role, Gains and Challenges (The Case of Parity) Najla Abbes Political Parties in Algeria: The Position of Women in Operation and Representation Nadia Ait-Zai About the Authors 4 Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the support and input of our colleagues in Washington and around the Mediterranean Basin, who contributed significantly to the success of the Mediterranean Women in Leadership and Civil Society Conference in Sarajevo in November 2013, where this project was announced. In particular, we would like to express our gratitude to our SAIS colleagues Daniel Serwer and Michael Haltzel for their valuable insights at our Economic Fora, panel discussions and other venues dedicated to the Mediterranean Basin Initiative. America-Bosnia Foundation Fellow and Project Coordinator of the Mediterranean Basin Initiative Dajana Džindo worked tirelessly to organize the Sarajevo conference and follow-up activities, and we are thankful for her tremendous efforts. Our special thanks go to Hanna Engblom for her dedication to timely and incisive edits in the last phase of production. As always, we are grateful to Peggy Irvine and Peter Lindeman for working out the publishing details of this and many other CTR publications. The opinions expressed in the following essays are the authors’ alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of any government or institution, or those of their fellow contributors. Sasha Toperich Senior Fellow, Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS Andy Mullins Visiting Scholar, Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS 5 Preface Daniel Hamilton The Mediterranean Basin Initiative, launched in 2013 by the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, has capped several years of work in the Balkans and the Mediterranean area. Working with our partners in the Mediterranean, we strive to promote a stronger relationship with the countries and peoples of North Africa and Southeast Europe. The Mediterranean Basin Initiative aims to focus the attention and support of the international community on the complicated transitional processes in North Africa, where experience from Southeast Europe over the last two decades informs our understanding of the longer-term nature of transition; the countries of the Basin have something to offer one another in several fields. The Initiative is a collaborative, issue-focused framework built around the themes of stronger transatlantic economic cooperation, empowering civil society and women in leadership, and political and academic dialogue throughout the Mediterranean. To date, we have convened two major international conferences under these auspices: the Transatlantic Economic Forum in June 2013 in Washington, and the Mediterranean Women in Leadership and Civil Society Conference in November 2013 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the interim, we have regularly hosted lectures and panel discussions featuring U.S., European, and North African business leaders, policymakers, and officials. All of the authors whose work is contained in this collection were participants in one or more of these events, helping to shape the conversation about the changing nature of the Mediterranean and what role the transatlantic community can play in it. This book represents many important threads in that conversation, the direction of which, in many places – Syria, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere – remains very much unsettled. Future Mediterranean Basin events will produce different discussions, and as in this case, discussants will not always achieve common viewpoints. But taken as a whole, the book offers a compelling vision for closer transatlantic cooperation in the Mediterranean Basin. Enjoy the reading. Daniel Hamilton Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Professor Executive Director, Center for Transatlantic Relations 6 Introduction Sasha Toperich and Andy Mullins The Mediterranean is changing. Political tremors that began in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia in December 2010 have shaken the entrenched order and toppled leaders in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Governments around the Mediterranean are struggling to deal with flagging economies, growing unemployment, security threats, migration, and other human security challenges. Simultaneously, the Arab Spring has brought an unprecedented opportunity for democratization and inclusive growth to millions more Mediterranean citizens than ever before. Long-standing social stagnation, gender inequality, and human rights violations stand ready to be addressed by reconsidering the relationship between states and citizens, by enhancing the rule of law and prioritizing individual rights. New constitutions in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt (and forthcoming in Libya) spark hope for increased liberty across the region. As each of the popular movements that toppled long-standing regimes in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt encountered severe difficulties, most observers realized that the transition process toward vibrant, democratic societies would take much more than the genuinely inspirational “will of the people.” It will require much more time and effort. Even as the revolutions that overthrew Ben Ali, Mubarak, and Qaddafi faltered, however, they created possibilities for future progress in the form of a number of new political parties and civil society organizations. New outlets in mainstream print and electronic media and on the Internet were also established, breathing fresh air into their societies. New political parties declared an end to oppression in all segments of life, pledging either to rewrite constitutions, or to pass new legislation to fight corruption, protect the rule of law, and guarantee judicial independence. But a lack of experience and political know-how on the part of the reformers, a widespread thirst for power and influence, obstructionism - usually triggered by domestic and regional special interests, and a re-assertion of power by the armed forces, especially in Egypt, have severely dampened the optimism of the Arab Spring. And as it is always easier to criticize than to praise, in all fairness, newly-formed governments worked tirelessly to bring about needed changes. But in many instances, they were faced with the simple question: Where do we begin? Previous regimes held a tight grip on their countries and had a very limited circle of trusted people that actually governed the state. To redirect governance and real responsibility to not only the respective ministries, but all other agencies, committees, and departments takes time to adjust and make functional. In the meantime, the economic 7 climate took a huge toll as consumer prices rose, political parties entered into bickering power struggle games, and performance fell far too short of people’s expectations. However, good things were achieved that will certainly enter history.

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