arab watch on social rights 2012.pdf

8/13/2019 Arab Watch on Social Rights 2012.pdf

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Right to Education

Right to Work

Arab Watch on

Economic andSocial Rights

Report


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Arab Watch on Economic and Social Rights is being carried out with support fromDiakonia and Swedish development cooperation. The project is the sole owner ofthe production, and the publisher is responsible for the content.

This publication can be quoted and cited and the information contained in it can bereproduced with a reference to ANND as the source of the work.

ANNDs objective is to foster constructive discussions among concerned stakeholders from governmental, private,

academic, and civil society circles on development processes, trade policies, and human rights. The development and

printing of this publications was made possible with the support of the Ford Foundation. This publication may be freely

excerpted or reproduced provided the information is credited. An e-copy can be found at ANNDs website www.annd.

org and www.csr-dar.org. The content and ideas included in the papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily

reect the position of the Arab NGO Network for Development or the opinion of the Ford Foundation.

For more information, please contact the Arab NGO Network for Development at the address below:

Arab NGO Network for Development*Tel: +961 1 319 366

Fax: +961 1 815 636

P.O.Box: 14/5792 Mazraa 1105 2070

Beirut- Lebanon

Website: www.annd.org

www.csr-dar.org

Email: [email protected]

* The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) is a regional network operating in 11 Arab countries with 7 na-

tional networks and 23 NGO members. ANNDs work focuses on economic and social policies and rights in the Arab

region. ANND was founded in 1997 and has its secretariat ofce in Beirut since the year 2000.

(First English version published in April 2013)


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Right to Education

Right to Work

Arab Watch on

Economic and

Social Rights

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Table of contents

Foreword

Introduction

It started with King Hammurabi

Executive Summary of National Reports, Burning Issues in a Turbulent Arab World

Regional Papers

The People Want to Overthrow the Regime! But Which Regime? The Transformation

from a Neopatrimonial State to a Civil Democratic State

The Role of the State: The Region in the Face of International Crises

Economic and Social Rights of Women in Egypt

Socioeconomic Policies and the Rights of Women in Tunisia

The Rights of PwDs in Work and Education

11

23

27

37

63

71

91

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Foreword Introduction (Ziad Abdel Samad)

It All Began With KingHammurabi (Roberto Bissio)

Executive Summary of NationalReports (Salaheddine Jourshi)


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Introduction

Ziad Abdel Samad

Executive Director,

Arab NGO Network for Development

The following report was prepared

by the Arab NGO Network forDevelopment, in collaboration withmembers in 10 Arab countries. Itis a reflection of the new approachadopted following the revolutions anduprisings erupting in the region andchanging its characteristics. Whilethe struggle continues to completethe process of change, it is hopedthat this will enable the constructionof a modern democratic state, which

should doubtlessly be civil and whereall citizens enjoy their legitimate rightswithout bias or discrimination.

This is the first report published bythe Arab Watch for Economic andSocial Rights and the initial result ofefforts by around 30 researchers overthe period of more than one year. Afterthe review of regional and nationalreports (included in this document)

and keeping up with tireless efforts toproduce the final document, ANNDattempted to identify the primarygeneral conclusions facing civil societyin the region, in light of its experiencesin the past two years. It is hoped that theeffort would contribute to the buildingprocess, by providing civil society withthe knowledge base required to developits approaches and negotiate with otherstakeholders in order to adopt the

appropriate public policies.

The Ambiguous Relationshipbetween Development andJustice, on one hand, andDemocracy and Freedoms, on theother

The Rights-Based Approach toDevelopment

One of the achievementsaccomplished last century was thefocus on the concept of global,comprehensive, and integrated humanrights and their mandatory applicationby all parties, whether governmentalor non-governmental.1 In the 21stcentury, however, the rights-based

regime began expanding in favor ofeconomic, social, and cultural rights,in parallel to political rights, withcomplementarity and indivisibilityas key principles, as indicated inthe two international covenants(ICCPR, ICESCR) supplementingthe Universal Declaration for HumanRights (UDHR).

The Millennium Declaration,approved by the United NationsGeneral Assembly in September 2000and based on a report by former UnitedNations Secretary General Mr. KofiAnnan Towards a Better Future for All,was linked to the provisions of threetypes of freedoms. The first is freedomfrom fear, and the respect of the rightto live in peace and security. Thesecond is freedom from want and need,

1 Qatran, Hatem, PhD (Tunisian scholar and

expert), paper on Economic and Social Rightsin the Constitution, presented to ANND.


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and, therefore, the respect of economicand social rights. And the third is thefreedom to live in dignity, and thus therespect of civil and political rights.

One of the solid foundations of acivil state is the legitimacy of theUDHR as the authority governingrelations between the citizen and thestate, whereby humans are seen ascitizens with rights and duties, andwhereby rights are derived from theperformance of their duties. Citizensshould not be exempted from theirduties towards their nation for anyreason whatsoever, since this couldresult in the violation of their legitimateand internationally recognized rightsby governing authorities. The respectof duties, therefore, will buttress therespect of the rights to participate inidentifying national and local goals andoptions, in addition to contributing toaccountability and follow-up.

This is the basis that informs civilsociety organizations of the rights-

based approach as a way to enhancetrue citizenship and modify relationscurrently based on the concept ofsubjects that practically leads to theemergence of a clientelist state.

Moreover, resources are controlled bydecision-makers whose understandingof ownership of natural and materialresources as the sole right of the ruler.This will ultimately lead to what is

known as the neopatrimonial state,the term used by researcher andregional expert Adib Nehme in thepaper he contributed to this report. Itis what countries of the region needto avoid in the next phase, in orderto bolster the establishment of a civilstate based on a new social contractbetween citizens and authorities andfounded on a rights-based approachand the concept of true citizenship.

The Right to Development, theInternational Convention onEconomic Social and CulturalRights, and the Optional Protocol

ICESCR contains a number of basicrights, which all citizens should enjoywithout discrimination on the basisof race, gender, color, language, orreligion. It is therefore inseparablefrom the human rights regime adoptedby the United Nations and approvedby its members. The Covenant istherefore the common responsibilityof governments, first, and othernational stakeholders, second. But italso required international cooperationto tackle challenges resulting from themode of international relations and itspolitical, economic, trade, financial,social, and cultural aspects.

This is the foundation of theMillennium Declaration and theMillennium Development Goals(MDGs), thereof, which includedthe aim (MDG Goal 8) to develop a

global partnership for developmentand international cooperation, whichdirectly expressed the responsibilityof major industrial countries insupporting and contributing to effortsaimed at reaching development, and,therefore, economic and social rights.The common responsibility inherentbetween local and national efforts,on one hand, and international work,on the other, leads to the promotionof the necessity of respectingfundamental rights for all, without biasor discrimination between citizens.

But it is also worth noting that theprinciple aim of all efforts, on variouslevels, is to achieve development as acomprehensive process that includesthe economic, political, social, andcultural tracks. It also aims to achievewelfare to citizens by ensuring their

active and effective participation in


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the development process, based on thefoundation of equitable redistributionof the outcomes of such activity inthe community. This means that the

primary focus of development mustbe the people, who contribute, in turn,to its achievement and profit from itsrevenue.

The Comprehensiveness andComplementarity of HumanRights in the Arab Region

The revolutionary uprisings in the Arabregion shed light on several fundamental

questions that had been neglected fordecades. The lack of freedoms, theabsence of transparent and effectivemechanisms for accountability, and theweakness of democratic institutionsresulted in the persistent violation ofeconomic and social rights of citizens.This led to the spread of institutionalcorruption in certain circles close topositions of power, who made profitand accumulated wealth, at a timewhen most citizens lived in a state ofpoverty, unemployment, and socialmarginalization.

While political and civil rights especially the right to assembly,expression, participation, and creatingpolitical, trade, and social associations were first taken up by human rightsorganizations, economic, social, andcultural rights remained as a secondary

priority. This was despite the fact thatinternational relations and partnershipsestablished in recent years were basedon economic interests and free trade.

The absence of democraticallydetermined national goals, meant thattrade agreements led to the liberalizationof large sectors of production andservices. Thus, partnerships were notbuilt on clear foundations and specific

aims, which reflect national approaches

and express the different interests ofvarious segments. On the contrary,they came to serve the interests of aspecific segment of the ruling class and

its close circles.Discussions which took place prior tothe uprisings and revolutions in Arabcountries had always pointed to thedifficulty of achieving developmentin the absence of democracy. Thesame discussions, following therevolutions, are now pointing to thedifficulty of achieving democracywithout development. This delineatesand demonstrates the integrity ofthe system of rights and all of itscomponents, including the conventionsand covenants thereof this integrityand complementarity will lead to therealization of the right to development.

This will also necessarily mean thatstates should be committed to fullrights, including economic and socialrights. This means a commitmentto the right of civil society in

observing and monitoring the extentof respect and implementation ofhuman rights and fundamentalfreedoms without bias. This wouldrequire the elimination of all sorts ofviolations, whether those caused bynational policies and practices or anyform of international relations andinterventions deemed discriminatory,or in the case of interference in internalaffairs and the violation of nationalsovereignty or sovereign and nationaldecisions, especially the right to self-determination.

The Failure of the DevelopmentModel

In the period prior to the uprisings, itwas clear that authorities had promoteda development model adopted in the

early 1970s, based on the Washington


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Consensus, which calls for liberalizingthe economy, opening markets, andreducing the role of the public sectorand the state. Most Arab countries,

which had been implementing asocialist-like system, began adopting asystem of extreme liberalism, withoutapplying necessary controls to upholdthe rights of citizens.

Following the implementation ofstructural adjustment policies (SAPs)and worsening social crises, thosecountries, often under the directionsof international organizations,attempted to avoid the collapse oflivelihood conditions for their citizens,by creating safety net programs totackle deteriorating social situations,especially abject or extreme poverty.

Today it is evident that these policiesdid not have a positive impact onsociety, despite adjustments andimprovements over the decades. Thiswas also despite the desperate attemptsto prove the opposite, through the

manipulation of data and researchresults, sometimes, or the fabricationof indicators and their way of use, onother occasions. The uprisings came toemphasize that ignoring bleak realitieswas unacceptable, no matter how rosythe picture painted. It is thereforeinevitable that such policies andapproaches be reconsidered, startingfrom their foundations.

However, current discussions onnational levels in the framework ofrelations with trade partners, financialinstitutions, and states remains stuckbetween two directions:

The first considers that the failure ofpast efforts to achieve social justiceand equality between citizens wasdue to the lack of democracy andtransparency, and thus the absence ofaccountability mechanisms, politicalparticipation, and peaceful rotation of

power.

Supporters of the second directionmaintain that while the above reasonsfor failure to achieve justice are true,

there are other, and probably moreimportant, reasons. They are primarilydue to actual economic policies andpriorities and not limited to politicaland administrative aspects.

This debate on the reasons for thefailure of development efforts to achievethe expected outcomes is accompaniedby a dialogue on the internationallevel, which became bitterer following

the multidimensional internationalcrisis, which hit in the second half oflast decade. This was witnessed in theFinancing for Development Summit(FfD) in Doha 2008, then in the twoministerial meetings of the UNCTADXII in 2008 in Accra and UNCTADXIII in 2012 in Doha, and, also inthat year, at the UN Conference onSustainable Development (Rio+20) inRio. Some parties insist on considering

the crisis to be a passing problem, whichcould be treated through traditionaleconomic and financial remedies,blaming some beneficiaries or corruptpersons. Others stress that the crisisexposes the need to reconsider themodels of international policies beingapplied, especially the need to controlthe movement of capital and foreigninvestment mechanisms. The proposethe need to reevaluate the role of thestate, in general, and the partnershipwith the private sector in protectingthe rights of citizens and monitoringthe implementation of policies relatedto their livelihoods and entitlements.

Reaching an agreement on alternativeson the macroeconomic level, namelydevelopment policies, will depend onthis debate.


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ANND and the Arab RevolutionaryUprisings

At the onset of the revolutionaryuprising in several Arab countries,

ANND launched a wide campaign onthe level of civil society organizations todemand the prioritization of economicand social rights and placing themon the agendas of political and socialactors. It was necessary to considersuch issues from the legal perspective,since they are fundamental rightsthat citizens of Arab countries shouldenjoy. It should be noted that theymust be incorporated into the newconstitutions.

ANND stressed on the fundamentalrole of civil society in this respect,to guarantee that the interests andrights of various social segments areupheld through civil institutions andestablishments. Civil society shouldhave a place in any future nationaldialogue aiming to identify majornational aims and objectives.

ANND also worked on activatinglobbying and advocacy mechanismsand programs aimed at financialinstitutions and internationalorganizations that have an impacton national decisions. It called themto participate in national dialoguesaimed at diagnosing imbalancesand evaluating past policies thathad been implemented for decades,

before adopting future directions andobjectives.

To strengthen its advocacy role,ANND works on developing thecapacities of civil society organizationsin this regard, through preparingresources and a knowledge base ofresearch and analysis concerning thepolicies and challenges faced in theeconomic and social spheres.

To this effect, ANND established anobservatory to watch over economicand social rights in the region, with anemphasis on policies and options that

lead to the violation of such rights. Thewatch aims to publish regular reports(every two years) on related rights,to be used as scientific references forcivil society in its defensive capacityand future negotiations. This report isthe first from the new Arab Watch onEconomic and Social Rights.

Why the Arab Watch for

Economic and Social RightANNDs annual report published in2012 indicated the following:

In the preceding period, ANNDworked on strengthening themonitoring role, based on amethodology that attempted toanalyze and discuss public policies inthe region, based on locally-producedresources. This is in addition to

supporting the role of civil societyin creating an alternative decision-making perspective, rooted in localand national priorities and needs. Themonitoring role was based on its beingan integral component of ANNDsexisting structure and activities, whichfocus on networking and capacitybuilding. The regional report oneconomic and social rights resultingfrom the monitoring process is the

main axis for observation mechanismsand complements the monitoringprocess in the context of UNmechanisms and EU-Arab relations,in addition to other fields of ANNDswork.

The above segment, taken from a reportevaluating ANNDs work, summarizesthe background that led it to activateits work in monitoring, in hope that

the regional report on economic and


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social rights would become an effectiveand productive mechanism and a toolto bolster the capacities and role ofcivil society in advocacy and impacting

public policies. This is in additionto strengthening participation indecision-making and policy formationand developing locally producedknowledge, with local tools, throughconsultation with the various segmentsof civil society. Practically, these makeup the strategic directions of ANNDas set by its General Assembly in thestrategic plan for the next few years.

The monitoring process focuses onuniversal human rights principlesdocumented in ICESCR andoptional protocols and internationalagreements, which were all approvedin principle by all Arab countries. Itshould be noted that the ratificationof this covenant varies from country toanother. Some have included them inthe constitutions, whereby they becameprinciples that superseded common

law. Other countries, however, did notinclude them in the constitutions andgave those constitutions conflictingauthorities in some cases, leading toreservations on some articles, namelythose that affect personal rights.Some ratified the covenant through avote in elected parliaments, althoughthe majority of elections in Arabcountries have not been fair andtherefore have doubtful authority and

claim to representation. This weakenstheir credibility and commitments,especially in light of the absence ofmandatory international mechanisms.Reservations on some of the articlesof the covenant have impacted itsimplementation, practically leading toinvalidating the principles of integrityand indivisibility of the system ofrights.

Report Summary

ANND worked on observing andmonitoring economic and social rightsin several Arab countries, through

following up on the implementationof MDGs (in Morocco, for example),Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR) inseveral countries (Lebanon, Egypt,Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen, andSyria), and internal discussions withpartners and experts who evaluatedthe networks activities, and somemembers who indicated the need tofocus on one or more specific rightsand monitor change thereof. ButANND decided to leave it up to itsmembers in each country to select theright or rights that can be considereda priority in their countries, takinginto consideration national challengesand individual needs to carry out thefollow-up process.

Five or six rights were chosen,in practice, in each of the Arabcountries that conducted the UPR in

coordination with ANND, four of therights were common to all countries:the right to work, the right to socialprotection, the right to education, andthe right to health.

For the first report on for the ArabWatch on Economic and Social Rights,ANND selected one or two rights tobe tackled, as a common thread amongall countries, which can be considered

one of the challenges currently facingthe region. Based on this approach,the consultative committee relatedto ANNDs program in this regarddecided that the first report shouldprimarily focus on the right to workand the right to education. Thesetwo rights were chosen, based on anassumption that they will becometwo principle challenges in all Arabcountries.

Unemployment could have been the


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main challenge in the past period anddoubtlessly remains the main challengeto emerging forces, whether in power oroutside. It is estimated that 55 million

job opportunities need to be createdin the next 3 decades in the region,making it a major challenge, in lightof the spread of marginal employment(precarious or unorganized), takingup more than half of the labor forcein the region in the most optimisticreports. It is well noted that this typeof work does not provide for any rightsor social and health insurance. On theother side, there is an obvious link

between education and the job market,whereby curricula need to be developedto contribute to the rehabilitationof newcomers to the job market andempower them to be able to compete.This would be through developing theeducational system qualitatively andquantitatively, in addition to expandinginto new sectors, which take up anadvanced position in modern national,regional, and international economies.

What Is the Right to Work?

The International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rightsstated the following pertaining to theright to work:The States Parties to thepresent Covenant recognize the rightto work, which includes the right ofeveryone to the opportunity to gain his

living by work which he freely choosesor accepts, and will take appropriatesteps to safeguard this right. The stepsto be taken by a State Party to thepresent Covenant to achieve the fullrealization of this right shall includetechnical and vocational guidanceand training programs, policies andtechniques to achieve steady economic,social and cultural development andfull and productive employment under

conditions safeguarding fundamental

political and economic freedoms tothe individual. (ICESCR, Part III,Article 6 (1, 2)).

This right guarantees the following

4 basic standards: 1. Access toappropriate and productive work. 2.Ensuring safe and non-discriminatorywork conditions. 3. Ensuring trainingand capacity building of professionalskills. 4. Ensuring protection fromobligatory work and unemployment.

The right to work also includes, theright of everyone to form independenttrade unions, which are considered

the primary safeguard to these rights,and the entity directly concernedin negotiation with authorities andemployers to implement and respectthese rights.

In the Arab region, where freedomshave been absent during the pastfew decades, no independent unionswere formed, but a union movementemanated from within the ruling

regimes to conspire with themagainst workers rights. Currently, theArab region is going through a rise/emergence of trade and workers unionsand which are supposed to be able tocreate an impetus/stimulus for civicwork and civil movements in generalfor the protection of rights in generaland workers rights in general.

What is the Right to Education?The right to education became aninternationally recognized right withthe adoption of the UDHR in 1948. Itis included in a number of internationalconventions, covenants, nationalconstitutions, and developmentplans. While most states have signedthese international conventions andcovenants, few have included them intheir national constitutions or adopted

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frameworks that guarantee theexecution of this right.

When we refer to the right toeducation, we must take into account

the four complementary standardsdeveloped by the former SpecialRapporteur of the UN on the right toeducation:

Ensuring free education for all childrenwhile guaranteeing suitable infra-structures and qualified educators ableto provide suitable education;

Ensuring access to education andeliminating discrimination of

access, and taking practical stepsto guarantee access of the mostmarginalized categories;

Ensuring acceptability (tolerance),this means that the content ofeducational curricula shouldbe appropriate and non-discriminatory and conforms tothe local culture. This requiresthe school to be a safe place and

the educators to have neededprofessional standards;

Adaptability, ensuring thateducation responds and adapts tothe best interest and benefit of thelearner in their current and futurecontexts. It should also contributeto non-discrimination specificallyconcerning gender, in addition tobeing culturally appropriate.

Education according to the standardsof ICESCR includes four coreelements/indicators to be realized: (1)Entitlement to free and compulsoryprimary education, (2) Availability ofdifferent forms of secondary education,(3) ensuring appropriate educationalcurricula and resources, (4) ensuringopportunities for everyone whilerespecting the freedom of education.

Overall Context of the Report:

The report focuses on treating thegeneral policies related to the rightto work and right to education with

an emphasis on violations concerningthe concepts of equality and non-discrimination. These two conceptsare at the core of the ICESCR. Thereport documents a number of casesand national demands campaigns,specifically those that achieved certainsuccess, with the aim of documentinglessons learnt.

While compiling this document,

researchers and experts collaboratedwith the different resource personsavailable within civil society andresearch organizations in an effort toreach a comparative approach to publicpolicies utilizing both field work andresearch.

The report is divided into two mainsections. The first deals with issuesspecific to the Arab region, researchingthe framework and nature of states andrelation to their citizens. It delves intothe new social contract that includeseconomic and social rights in additionto economic and social rights forwomen and People with Disabilities(PwDs). The second section includes10 national reports drafted byresearchers and activists dealing withboth the right to work and the right toeducation.

Finally, the report includes a paperon challenges faced by citizens of the10 Arab countries that participated inthe reporting on the right to work andthe right to education. The aim is toinvestigate common challenges.

An annex is included, which delineatesthe major indicators sited in the reporton the right to education and rightto work with the aim of developing

the statistical parts in future reports.


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(Annex available in Arabic version ofreport).

General conclusions:Going over thematic and nationalreports and based on the accumulatedexperience of ANND over the past

years, specifically the period followingthe popular Arab revolutions, wearrive to the following challenges andrecommendations:

Challenges:

I. The first challenge highlightingby the report in regard of thecurrent situation of the region isin the ability to sustain nationalunity and steer dialogue aiming tounify national efforts. Divergencesemerging at the political,confessional (religious), ethnic,or tribal levels create challengesthat will mark the coming period

with notable specificities, whichshould be seriously considered,in addition to work on find theappropriate national frameworkthat ensures national unity andcomplementarity amongst thedifferent national entities.

II. Focusing on challenges relatedto international entities andpartners, we find discrepanciesbetween national priorities andthose of partners, specificallydonor agencies. The coming phaseis expected to focus on nationbuilding and the adoption of publicpolicies concerning the economicand social sectors especially.Consequently, an in-depthrevision should be undertakento inform the structuring of newpolicies. However, international

organizations showing willingnessto fund national policies still adopt

the same approach, relegatingproblems to mechanisms ofprevious regimes and not theirpractices.

III. In this context, a challengeappears, namely defendingnational sovereignty, which meansthe ability to draft public policiesbased on national prioritiesand not necessarily in line withattracting foreign investments orrequirements to join the globaltrade system through multilateralor unilateral agreements. It iswell known that trade agreementsgenerally lead to diminishingnational capacity to formulatepolicies, in addition to imposingthe conditions of internationalmonetary organizations in linewith donors and partners whichare often in conflict with nationalpriorities.

IV. In this context, nascentgovernments should be empowered

to draft a relation of parity withpartners, based on mutual respectand common interests. This isto be done through accurateidentification of national needsand challenges according toparticipatory and democraticmechanisms. And it has to includeall civil society, business andgovernment actors. Eventually,negotiation can take place onthe basis of priorities, strategies,programs and plans.

V. What has been discussed abovebrings us to the need to reviewthe concept of partnership andambiguous partner relations.Hence, it is important to agreeon the definition of the term/concept partnership and to workaccordingly. Partnership means

reconciling the interests of all actors


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the rights of developing countriesand their citizens.

Conclusion:

We hope that this report presentsuseful substance for dialogue in aregional seminar to be organized by

ANND, which will go in depth intothe main conclusions reached by bothexperts and researchers. The aim isto come up with an action plan thatcan contribute to the mobility of civilsociety.

In our review of national reports,we aimed to reach generalrecommendations on the regionallevel, taking into account the difference

in the kind of recommendations thatare presented on the 3 levels (national,regional, international).

These summaries are to be presentedduring the Arab Economic and SocialSummit (Riyadh, early 2013). So itcan be a conception presented by civilsociety to Arab leaders contributingto a constructive dialogue concerningchallenges of the upcoming phase,specifically concerning development.In addition it provides objective andscientific material that contributesto empowering and strengtheningnegotiation of civil society in itsnational struggle to reach socialequality.


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Roberto Bissio,

Coordinator of the internationalsecretariat of Social Watch

Some four thousand years ago,King Hammurabi had the laws ofhis domains between the Tigris andEuphrates rivers carved in stone andplaced in front of his palace. The lawswere written in the plain language ofthe people, not in the arcane idiom ofthe priests, so that everybody couldunderstand them. They were notengraved on clay, so they could not bechanged overnight at will, and theywere not hidden, so that all were able

to access them and learn, for example,that even judges had a duty not tobetray the rules in their decisions.

The basic principles of accountabilityof the rulers to the ruled were thuscreated and it is precisely to put them inpractice that Social Watch was created.In the last decades all rulers of theworld have committed themselves tothe Universal Declaration on HumanRights (1948), that spells out thebasic principles of human dignity, theCopenhagen and Beijing declarations(1995) that promise to eradicatepoverty and achieve gender equalityand the Millennium Declaration(2000) that commits them to ensurethe simultaneous realization of atriangle framed bypeace and securityon one vertex, democracy and humanrights on the second and last but not

least development and social justice.

Those commitments were translatedinto every language and carved in theInternet, videos, radio and printedpapers that all can access and aremore difficult to hide and erase thana stone. Yet, the non-compliance withthe formal promises, while morally

condemned in all cultures and places,is of difficult enforcement. Thecommitments made to society tend tobe easily forgotten if organized citizensand communities are not constantlyreminding them.

Social Watch was created in 1995 tohelp governments remember theirpromises and to assist those governedto monitor the achievements... or lack

of them. The first Social Watch reportwas published in 1996 and it includednational reports authored by 13 non-governmental organizations in asmany countries. Nowadays the SocialWatch network has active coalitionsthat group over 1,400 organizationsin 85 countries and the number ofparticipants grows each year. Eachnational alliance defines its ownpriorities, message and governance

mechanisms. To participate in theglobal network they commit themselvesto be inclusive, to report honestly andto engage in advocacy and dialogue

with society and authorities in everypossible way, in order to improvethe quality of the social policies andthe openness of the mechanismsthat define them. The network willin turn amplify the national voices,help develop methodological tools,such as the innovating indexes on

It started with King Hammurabi...

Social Watchwas created in

1995 to helpgovernments

remember theirpromises andto assist those

governed tomonitor the

achievements...or lack of them


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gender equity and on basic capabilitiesthat Social Watch developed, andcollectively held internationalorganizations accountable for their

own commitments.In the international governancearchitecture, between the national andthe global decision-making, regionalbodies are playing a role of growingimportance. The Social Watch networkthus welcomes regional initiatives suchas this first Arab report, which fills a

vacuum in a moment when the Arabregion recognizes the need for payingattention to the voices of its citizensand when the Arab civil society hasemerged as a powerful voice and aninspiration for the struggles againstauthoritarianism everywhere.

The Arab NGO Network fordevelopment, ANND, which playssuch an important role in articulatingcivil society voices in the Arabcountries, has already translated in thepast in various occasions key chapters

of the global Social Watch report.Now it expands that valuable work bypublishing a completely new regionalSocial Watch report, allowing for morein depth analysis of the challengesand opportunities in rapidly changingcountries.

The Arab Spring which brings civilsociety to the center of regional politicsafter decades of authoritarian rule

has been depicted as a novelty in thehistory of this part of the world. Yet,same as the notion of accountabilitycan be traced back to Hammurabi,who reigned in what is now Iraq,the idea that the people (or thesubjects) are at the base of a societyand should be protected by justice wasarticulated in the 14th century by theArab philosopher ibn Khaldun, thefather of modern sociology, who in his

Muqaddimah quotes Aristotle (who

worked from Alexandria, in what isnow Egypt) as having establishedpolitical wisdom in the following eightsentences:

The world is a garden the fence ofwhich is the dynasty. The dynasty is anauthority through which life is givento proper behavior. Proper behavioris a policy directed by the ruler. Theruler is an institution supported by thesoldiers. The soldiers are helpers whoare maintained by money. Money issustenance brought together by thesubjects. The subjects are servantswho are protected by justice. Justice issomething harmonious and through it,the world persists.

In the present world, this justice iscodified in the human rights framework,which includes in an indivisiblepackage civil and political rights(freedom from fear) and economic,social and cultural rights (freedomfrom want), including the rights of

women, the rights of minorities, of

the disabled and the vulnerable, theyoung and the old and is held togetherby the right to development. It is anygovernments primary responsibility torespect, protect and promote the rightsof its subjects, but those duties alsoinclude an extraterritorial dimension,which is to assist to the extent ofavailable resources the realization ofthose rights where the maximum ofefforts are already deployed locally andstill prove insufficient.

Over the last two decades, since the fallof the Berlin Wall, the human rightsframework has been strengthenedby the creation of the InternationalCriminal Court to judge human rightsviolators when local justice is not ableto do so, the approval of the optionalprotocol to the Convention onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights

to allow for citizens to litigate against

Completelynew regionalSocial Watch

report,allowing for

more in depth

analysis of thechallenges andopportunities

in rapidlychangingcountries


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states when those rights are beingviolated and the inauguration of theUniversal Periodic Review mechanismby the human Rights Council,

requiring all governments to reportat least every four years to their peersand allowing for civil society to presentindependent testimonies. In the socialsphere, the Convention on the Rightsof Domestic workers, approved in 2010adds another instrument, in this caseof particular interest for migrants andfor women, to the existing mechanismsthat defend workers rights.

Yet, with even more vigor and strongerenforcement tools, even more rightswere created in those same years fortransnational corporations, includingrights that persons dont have:Through a network of hundreds ofregional bilateral and plurilateraltrade and investment agreements,corporations have acquired the rightto settle anywhere they want and bringany personnel they decide they need,

they are allowed to repatriate profitswithout restrictions and even to litigateagainst governments, not through localcourts but via international arbitrationpanels shaped to defend businessinterests and where human rights donot necessarily prevail.

The result of this imbalance betweenthe rights of humans and the rightsof corporations has been, on theone hand, increased inequalities all

around the world and, on the other,the collapse of the financial markets in2008, triggering a crisis that originatedin the irresponsible behavior ofunregulated banks in the richesteconomies of the world but soonbecame an economic crisis affectingpeople everywhere. Between nowand 2020 one billion children aroundthe world will become young adults(between 16 and 24 years old). Most

of them will not be able to find a jobor continue studying and, for the firsttime in recent history, this generationwill have no hope of a better lifethan what their parents have... unlesssubstantive changes occur. As many ofthe chapters in this report show, thissituation is particularly dramatic in theArab region, where youth is a majordriving force in the demand for equity.

In the turmoil of the present world, thisreport deserves careful attention, as itwill help reinvigorate the principles ofaccountability, justice and recognitionof the basic role of the people thatare deeply rooted in Arab culture andhistory.

The result ofthis imbalancebetween the

rights of

humans andthe rights ofcorporationshas been, on

the one hand,increased

inequalitiesall around the

world


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Salah Eddine Aljourshi

Senior Research Coordinator atANND

The Arab world might soon find itselfunable to meet the needs of millions of

men and women seeking decent work,due to the continuously wideninggap between education curricula, onone hand, and the needs of the labormarket, on the other. This is unlessgovernments undertake a review ofcurrent social and economic policiesand accelerate the development ofregional cooperation frameworks,including the removal of barriers tounifying Arab markets.

Large segments of Arab citizens arealready threatened with being deprivedof their right to attend schools thatprovide the minimum of educationalstandards and guarantee them equalopportunity to improve their scientificknowledge, compared to fellow citizensin the same country.

According to several indicators,the knowledge gap between Arab

countries and the rest of the world isexpected to grow, due to the structuralcrises faced by regimes and educationalinstitutions in the Arab world. Thecrisis begins with the serious lack ofkindergartens, on to basic education,and then the crisis in universitycurricula throughout the region, wherenone of the Arab universities makeit to the list of top 500 universitiesin the world, compared to 6 Hebrewuniversities that made it to the list.

This is one part of the reality, uncoveredby the national reports publishedbelow, in this collective effort betweenresearchers and field activists in 10countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia,Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Bahrain,Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon.

Highlights from the Reports

The following aspects of the situationcan be summarized from the reportson the right to work and right toeducation:

First: Constitutionalizing BasicRights

It should be noted that Arab countriesin general are still committed in theirconstitutions to the respect of theminimum of economic and socialrights, albeit through sometimes-vague statements or cursory references,the legacy of the nation-state buildingphase, which was, at the beginning,more inclined towards the welfarestate. In practice, however, anddespite the inclusion of social rights

in the texts, it can be said that policiesadopted in those countries began toshed these commitments and relegatethem to a lower priority following thetransformations witnessed since theearly 1970s. Therefore, the questionof constitutionalization of such rights,including the right to work and theright to education, remains a prioritydemand, especially in countries wherethe revolutions succeeded and began aprocess of rewriting the constitution.These countries are required to

Executive Summary of National Reports

Burning Issues in a Turbulent ArabWorld


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include in their constitutions all suchrights, based on their adherence tointernational legitimacy.

Second: Security and Arms beforeEducation and Health

There is a tendency in mostgovernments in the region to reducebudgets related to economic and socialrights, including the right to education,despite concerns about escalatingunemployment rates. The nationalreports below indicate that the securityand military sectors still consume asignificant portion of the budgets ofsome Arab states, even the smallerones or those who do not face the riskof external attacks.2 This indicates afundamental flaw in the priorities ofthose governments and reveals hiddenstrings being pulled by regional andinternational powers to keep Arabregimes occupied with anxieties,suspicions and rivalries.3On this basis,

2 A new report published in Dubai expected

that spending on weapons in the MENAregion would reach US$118.2 billion by 2015.A company specialized in alternative assetsmanagement and publishing economic and

analytical reports indicated that the MENAregion is quickly becoming an inuential

player in the military products market. The

report sheds light on the forms of spending

witnessed by the regional arms sector. In

2010, the total spending in the region onmilitary affairs reached US$91 billion. Statesare expected to sustain investments in strong

defense systems to maintain their sovereignty,

protect their security, and avoid disturbancessimilar to those witnessed in what is being

termed the Arab spring. (Algerian PopularNational Army web forum). The site alsoindicates that Algeria is the third highest

spender on weapons in the Arab region.

3 New York Timesreported that US weaponssales increased threefold in 2011 and reacheda record historical high, according to a study

by the Congressional Research Service.The biggest change was due to its sales to

Arab Gulf countries that are worried about

Irans nuclear ambitions, namely SaudiArabia, with purchases of US$4.33 billion,

the working groups that preparedthis report recommend the supportof education budgets, especially toraise teachers salaries and the need to

rationalize government spending andraise the proportion of spending onequipment and educational supplies.

Third: Market Liberalization EqualsFewer Rights

The national reports agree thatwhenever successive governmentsmoved forward with policies of freemarket economy, social differenceswidened and economic and socialrights were reduced, especially ineducation and work, due to the linkbetween services and income levels.This began to take hold with theincreasing frequency of movingtowards the liberalization of servicesas part of the commitment to freetrade. The national working groups,made up of experts and civil societyorganizations, stress the need toprotect the principle of free and public

education, as a public facility thatguarantees equal opportunity to allwithout discrimination.

Fourth: Women Are the First Victims

Women are among the most affectedgroups and are vulnerable to theviolation of their rights or theirdisparagement in various forms,especially during periods of crisis. For

example, the report on Egypt indicates

the UAE with $3.49 billion, and Oman with$4.1 billion. The newspaper indicated thatWashington is pushing its Arab allies to

establish an interconnected missile defense

system to protect cities, oil reneries, oilpipes, and military bases from Iranian attacks.

On the other hand, an article in the WashingtonPost about Chinas arms exports to Africa,

mentioned Sudan and Somalia as beneciarycountries. (US and China Fight Over the

Arms Market in the MENA Region, Youm7,30 August 2012.


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that the unemployment rate amongfemales was three times that amongmales, in the recent years that createdthe conditions of the revolution.

However, despite their prominentparticipation in the recent revolutions,their proportion in leadership anddecision-making positions is still weakand ineffective. They also suffer fromtheir denial of career advancementopportunities, compared to men.Therefore, mechanisms to protectthe work of women and ensure theirequality with men in rights andresponsibilities should be put in place.

Five: People with Disabilities in theArab World Are Punished

Despite relative improvement,especially on the legislative level, thesituation of people with disabilities(PwDs) in the Arab world is stillpoor, although it is considered a vitalsegment of the regions population.In Lebanon, for example, theirproportion is between 7% and 9% of

the population. In Egypt, the numberof children with disabilities reachedmore than 1 million, according tofigures from 2006. The number ofpersons with special needs in Algeriais no less than 2 million. In the Arabregion in general, there are 30 millioncitizens with various disabilities,according to estimate by the WHOand the World Bank. Nevertheless,budgets and efforts related to PwDs

are still lacking. The ILO indicatesthat 80% of Arabs with disabilitiesare poor. The Lebanese case revealedan organic link between disability andpoverty, as the majority of PwDs inLebanon are close to the poverty lineand have fewer opportunities to enjoythe rights to education and work.

Adopting the policy of social integrationis an urgent need in the Arab worldand, therefore, the need to work on

integrating PwDs in the right to work

at no less that 10%. Teachers shouldbe trained on communicating withPwDs, who should also benefit fromthe proper infrastructure in schools,

universities, and the workplace.

Sixth: Civil Society Can Only Be aPartner

There is an emphasis on the needfor partnership with civil society, inaddition to its role in monitoringviolations, to draft policies related toemployment and education. This isin order to strengthen mechanismsof accountability, participation, anddeepening local democracy. On thisbasis, there is a need for schools toopen up to their surroundings, throughthe active participation of parents andlocal associations, in addition to thecreation of a national coalition of allstakeholders in a national forum foreducation.

Diagnosisand Recommendations

The reports did not only diagnose theviolations to the rights of educationand work. They also included a packageof important recommendationsand suggestions, some of which arerelated to policies and others relatedto practical aspects of protecting thebeneficiaries of those two rights.

A. The Right to Education

The reports confirmed the presenceof a close correlation between thedegree of poverty and academicsuccess rates. This was especiallytrue in the study related to Egyptianwomen, which showed childrenfrom poor families in Egypt whosuffer from lack of educationalfacilities, witness a decline in theiracademic level. Therefore, it is theresponsibility of governments to

facilitate the access of poor children


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kindergartens. The future ofeducation in the Arab world instrongly linked to the advancementof the childhood sector.

The concept of academicfreedoms, based on internationalstandards must be activated throughan end of political recruitmentin education and distancinguniversities from private, political,or financial pressures. This is inaddition to working to supportthe administrative and academicindependence of researchinstitutions, liberating existing

aptitudes from the stranglingbureaucracy, and, in particular,lifting the control imposed onuniversities by security forces.

B. The Right to Work

The national reports highlightedthe spread of a phenomenondescribed as the vulnerabilityof work, according to the term

proposed by Dr. Azzam Mahjoub(Tunisia report), and the parallelinformal economic sectors,according to the other reports.Secure employment has declinedagainst the dominance of incidentalwork with temporary contractor without contract altogether.This created a wide opening foremployment agencies tradingin labor through local, regional,and international networks. InEgypt, the ratio of workers in theunregulated sector reaches 51%.In Algeria, neither the socialistheritage nor the oil wealth couldprevent the number of workerswith temporary contracts fromreaching 2 million. In thiscontext, the reports calls on Arabgovernments to sign the optionalprotocol of the InternationalCovenant on Economic Social

and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in

order to assess its performance inenforcing those rights, includingthe right to work. States shouldensure the protection, security, and

stability of work conditions and fixtemporary workers.

States in the Arab world stillcarry the main responsibility inproviding employment for citizens,monitoring the job market, andinitiating major strategic projects.However, due to the structuralchanges in the past 30 years, theprivate sector remains more capableof absorbing the labor force in

many Arab countries. For example,the private sector in Tunisiaemploys 60% of the workforcein the country. Nevertheless, theproblem lies in the fact that asignificant proportion of privateinvestors continue to avoid, forthe most part, investment in majorstrategic sectors, such as agricultureand heavy industry, preferringthe financial, real estate, and

services sectors. This will deependependence on internationalmarkets. Furthermore, the socialresponsibility of corporations hasnot yet transformed into clear,legislated, and institutionalizedpolicies in the Arab world. Forexample, social security systemsin the region suffer from astructural crisis that could leadto their collapse soon. This willincrease work vulnerabilities anddeepen inequalities. Accordingly,the process of reform of socialsecurity systems and unifying theirfunds should be accelerated, inaddition to increased control ontheir spending, investment, andmanagement methods.

There is a need to work on ensuringthe recognition of the right tounionize and the promotion ofunion freedoms, including theright to strike. Numerous Arab


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countries still impose restrictionson the right to establish unions,although it is an integral partof the concept of decent work,

defined by international treatiesgoverning the right to work.Several Arab countries restrictthe work of unions and hinder thepractice of this right. Therefore,working to build a democratic andindependent workers and tradeunions movement, which is able tocontribute to the achievement ofcivil peace, remains a top priority.

There is a need to work on reducing

disparities in job opportunities inthe different regions and betweenrural and urban areas, throughcompliance with all aspectsof decent work, in addition toestablishing the conditions forlocal democracy as a primarymechanism lifting the peripheriesfrom the state of marginalizationand reducing existing disparitiesbetween them.

Child labor remains one of thewidespread negative phenomenain the Arab world. One of therecommendations calls for aresolute confrontation of this issue,since it poses a threat to childhoodand human rights.

There is a need for a permanentsocial dialogue between

governments, unions, and theprivate sector to ensure decentwork, whose conditions includeappropriate protection and the

practice of union rights. In a sense,it is important to institutionalizethis dialogue through establishingcouncils with the power to managenational dialogues on a regularbasis. These structures should beexpanded to include civil societyorganizations active on realizingeconomic and social rights.

Governments should developpolicies and budgets to encourage

the establishment of small andmedium sized projects by youngpeople. They should work onthe rehabilitation of universitygraduates through trainingprograms based on the needs of thelabor market. Absorbing degree-holders remains one of the majorchallenges faced by various Arabgovernments.

The Israeli occupation is a direct

threat to the enjoyment of theright to work by Palestinians.Due to the spread of many formsof such violations, the reportsuggests the re-evaluation of therole of international organizations,namely the ILO, in highlightingand handling violations of theright to work by the occupation.


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Regional Papers


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Adib Nehme

Regional Consultant ESCWA

Regime or Regimes?

The literal adoption of the slogan

The People Want to Overthrow theRegime in all countries that witnessedpolitical and social mobilization,despite the difference in the form thestruggle took in different places, givesthe impression that we face the sameregime in all countries. It is as if theArab youth who rose or protested inthe streets and squares believe that theArab regimes are copies of the samepolitical model or an embodiment of a

certain type of regime on the nationallevel.

In the first weeks and months of theArab Spring, mobilization becamecontagious, quickly spreading fromone country to another. This gavelegitimacy to the idea of the commonfeatures of all the regimes and themovements rising up against them. Italso gave legitimacy to the fading Arab

idea, which reappeared in the spreadof the revolutionary movements andtheir slogans. This has revived thebelief in the interconnection of Arabsocieties and can revive the concept ofArab Nationalism, in the same mannerof the traditional Arab Nationalistmovements in the past decades.

With time, divergent and differentfeatures of the various processesstarted to appear and take precedencein the analysis. On one hand, there was

the violent repression of the Bahrainimobilization, aborted through directintervention from the GCC (whileArab and western countries turned ablind eye). Then there was the militarytrack which Libya was pushed into whose responsibility fell on the regime,

in the first place, followed by a militaryintervention by NATO and othercountries, including Arab states, underthe Arab and international politicalcover of the Arab League and the UNSecurity Council (UNSC). This cameas a shock to the initial reductionistview of the Arab Spring and itspossible outcomes and it became moreimportant than ever to study each trackalone, leading to the opposite idea thatcircumstances in each country differ,to the extent of rejecting the commonaspects.

Thus, the perception of Arabmobilizations wavered between givingprecedence to commonalities in areductionist manner and neglectingto see the deep differences ineach countrys circumstances andmobilization, on one hand, and the

exaggeration of uniqueness, in orderto cover the common and similarfeatures between those countries.This tool place concerning the causesand premises of the mobilizations, intheir perceived aims and possibilities,and the common links, solidarity, andcomplementarity of actual processesfor change, whether current or in theshort and medium-term future.

This paper adopts an approach which

The People Want to Overthrow theRegime! But Which Regime? The

Transformation from a NeopatrimonialState to a Civil Democratic State

It is as if theArab youthwho rose orprotested in

the streets andsquares believethat the Arabregimes are

copies of thesame political

model


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recognizes both common and divergentfeatures of a single historic turningpoint, each consecutively expressingone dimension of a complex social-

historical reality. The similarity isreflected namely on the level of almostidentical causes and triggers of protestsand revolutions in various countriesand even on the level of declared goalsand possible outcomes or similaritiesbetween political-ideological currentsand social formations participatingin the mobilizations. However,differences and distinct features areevident in the level reached by the

tracks taken by movements in eachcountry. This is in addition to somedifferences in the political and socialcomposition of participants in themobilization; the characteristics oflocal, regional, and international actors;as well as the balance between each oftheir roles. National tracks are alsoaffected by geopolitical positions andcharacteristics, economic and naturalresources, the level of organization of

political movements and their effectiveengagement in influencing themobilization, the nature of the rulingregime and its experience in dealingwith protests, the level of supportof lack thereof in the internationalcommunity, and the ability to createeffective regional coalitions, etc.

In the end, the actually achieved trackand the upshot of mobilization in each

country and around the region has notbeen set a priori by any of the mainactors, despite the fact that some bigactors assume that they are able tocontrol the mobilization, whether ina particular country or in the wholeregion, and it seems are acting basedon this assumption. The future is beingmade every day through interactionand conflict between all parties. Thismovement cannot be controlled by

one side or accurately steered towards

achieving objectives set in advance.Historical determinism is not possiblehere, not just the Marxian type ofdeterminism, but, more importantly,

modern neoliberal determinisms or thepolitical and ideological determinismthat prevails in the Arab region today,including the conspiracy theory, whichis nothing but a vulgar and naivefatalistic way of describing history orthe illusion of being able to control it.

Classifying the State in ArabCountries

We begin with a legitimate question:What is the similarity between therepublican presidential Tunisianregime, which is open and integratedin global capital, and the republicanpresidential regime in Egypt, whichbegan as an Arab Nationalist andsocialist system under Nasser andhas now turned towards neoliberalglobalization? What are the commoncharacteristics between the Tunisianand Egyptian regimes and that ofLibya, which is difficult to describe?The Libyan regime concentrated allstate power and authority in the handsof an enlightened leader who came topower in a military coup, 4 decades ago,and created a rabidly personified rule,which is almost bereft of institutions inthe modern sense, but which adopts ananti-imperialist revolutionary rhetoric.

On the other hand, what are thecommon features with Yemen, whichhad been reunified following a seriesof wars. It is also a presidential systembased on a traditional tribal structure,which is embedded in society and thestate apparatus itself? What about thecommon features between Bahrain, akingdom, and Syria, a Baathist state?

The list can go on to include othercountries that witnessed less intensemobilizations and even those which

The future

is beingmade everyday throughinteractionand conflictbetween allparties. This

movementcannot becontrolled

by one sideor accurately

steered towardsachieving

objectives set inadvance


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did not witness any mobilization in thepast year, but can be considered part ofwhat can be called an Arab regime.Perhaps this paper on the concept

of the neopatrimonial state canidentify the essence of such an Arabregime, if it exists.

To describe Arab regime, one becomesused to a set of terms, which areused to describe the nature of theregimes. Some of the terms arefrom the sphere of direct politics(dictatorship, authoritarianism,totalitarianism, statism, militarism,security...), some are political-historical (despotism...), othersare political-economic (rentier...),almost sociological (patriarchal,tribal/familial/sectarian...), or focuson the type of administration of thestate (individualistic, personified,corrupt, clientelist...), etc. It shouldbe noted that the above terms areactual characteristics of those regimes,but they do not penetrate into its

structure and functions or catchtheir true essence. Also, they do notreveal the common features amongthe subcategories, which could bedescribed by the terms above.

There are several distinctions anddifferences between those terms, butthere is also something that is common,which will be elucidated below.

Undemocratic Regimes

First, there is the feature of absenceof democracy and public freedoms,or their weakness and constraints.While Arab regimes can be definedin the negative as being undemocratic,a direct definition usually required itsdescription as dictatorial, authoritarian,or despotic (the most common), thatall carry similar connotations.

Dictatorship, Authoritarianism, andDespotism

Dictatorship, as a concept, is theopposite of democracy, according tocommon usage, linguistic roots, andhistorical reference (ancient Greece).It can also be a military dictatorship(which is the most obvious) and acivil one. It is often characterized bywide-ranging authorities given toan individual leader, whose powersare almost unlimited, from the legalor practical perspectives. Regimes

that adopt a form of a modern stateand its institutions are usually closerto the concept of a dictatorshipthan those with a more traditionalstructure. Therefore, a dictatorialregime presents itself as a sort ofmodern system (the rule of formerTunisian President Zine el-AbidineBen Ali was a prime example of such adictatorship.)

The term despotic regime is in turna reformulation of the concept ofdictatorship in our countries, takinginto consideration the historicalreference of the region. The termsitself refers to the concepts of Eastern,Asiatic, or feudal despotism (in thepre-capitalist sense) and it is a uniqueform of governance and tyrannywitnessed in the region throughouthistory, from ancient to modern times

(from the Pharaohs, to the Arab-Islamic empire in the middle ages, tothe Ottoman empire). It is one of theforms of dictatorship in Arab countries,informed by the most backward formof despotism, which is different, inform at least, than the concept ofdictatorship mentioned below thatfollowed the industrial revolution.Despotism, thus, can be consideredthe dictatorship of traditional regimes.

On the other hand, the term

The above

terms are actualcharacteristics

of thoseregimes, butthey do not

penetrate intoits structure

and functionsor catch theirtrue essence


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authoritarian regime or authoritarianstate is more general and vague, andthus cannot be considered accurate(like dictatorship or democratic). It

refers to the manner of practicingpower, its legitimacy, and the degree ofacceptance or rejection from citizens.Authoritarianism denotes the politicsof coercion and force (physical andsymbolic), the oppression of opponentsand citizens, the tendency to bypass thelaw, or the application of unfair lawsthrough force and repression, in therelationship between society and thecomponents of the political regime.

No authority can govern withouta minimum of popular support,legitimacy, and legality; governingis an act of persuasion and coercion.When

persuasion subsides and coercionis magnified due to a dwindlingsupport-base, authorities are proneto authoritarian practices based onincreasing coercion. It transforms

into naked authoritarianism, devoidof persuasion, supporters, or higherinterest. The authoritarian aspectis shared between dictatorial anddespotic regimes. It is a description ofthe manner in which the ruler exercisesgovernance and the balance betweenelements of power and physical forcecompared to other tools of hegemony.

Statist, Military, and SecurityRegimes

A section of Arab regimes is describedas statist regimes, meaning that thestate and its apparatus have a prominentrole in the political, economic, andsocial spheres, which surpasses thecustomary role played by the statein liberal democracies following theEuropean model. The statist regimecan have a socialist tint (actually, a formof populism), which provides the state

with a major role in economic activityat the expense of market mechanisms.In this case, the state is described asan interventionist state, whether

through central planning, a pivotalrole in manufacture and services, orthe legal restrictions and advancedorganization of the market.

This type of intervention can also occurin economies that lack the socialistflavor, such as the intervention ofthe political administration in themarket or in economic activity.Nevertheless, statism goes beyondthe sphere of economics and intopolitics (and sociology), as rulingelites become more dependent onthe state and its machinery in thereproduction of authority and rule.Therefore, they deliberately reduce themargins of relative autonomy of thestate apparatus, as an administrativebody, from political authority. Inother words, a statist regime does notdistinguish between the administrative

and political functions of the state, itsinstitutions, and machinery in a clear,legal, and institutional manner.

In a statist regime, the state apparatusplays a major role in governing societyand reproducing authority. It alsoreproduces itself as a bureaucraticsystem as a tool for control by theruler. Much like the dictatorial regime,a statist regime is closer in shape to amodern state, since it is founded onstate institutions and its apparatus(as a civic entity). This is more sothan regimes that are characterized astraditional, which draw an importantaspect of their rule and dominancefrom primary social formations andaffiliations (tribe, religion, sect) thatshare the influence and contribute tothe establishment of power within thestate and its machinery, if not being the

very basis on which the state was builtin the first place. Not all Arab regimes


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new types of rewards or reap benefitsbeyond what is assumed, such asin monopolizer or sole agencies,controlling licenses and procedures,

or imposing partnership in businessor profits, whether as bribes,kickbacks, or as a direct partner(position rent).

Rentier states are those where rentplays the decisive role in economyand resources. Oil states are the mostglaring example and where the realestate and financial sectors are the twomain rent sectors, in addition to themining sector.

But the notion of rentier statetranscends the economic dimensioninto other aspects of state functionsand spheres, in addition to socialrelations. The term is used to indicate apattern of utilitarian-material relationsthat prevails between the ruler andhis subjects. The state collects rentto increase the wealth of rulers andconsecrate their powers. It distributes

a share to subjects based on the degreeof family kinship, connections, andloyalty to the center of decision orthe actual ruler. Or, the share can bedispersed in a manner that guaranteesthe stability of the regime and itscontinuity in power.

The rentier system entails, bynecessity, a collection aspect and adistribution aspect. Allotments are

used to reproduce relations of loyaltyand servitude, which exclude thepossibility of shaping a relationship ofcitizenship based on rights, oversight,and accountability. The idea of rent/allotment is a contrast to the idea ofproductive labor/tax, as two distinctiveforms of relationship between the rulerand the ruled. Taxes are a cornerstoneof democracy and accountabilityin the modern civil state, while the

distribution of shares of rent to subjects

is the opposite.

Taxes are the basis of the citizens rightof oversight and accountability of theruler. The distribution of shares from

rent reproduces the dependency ofsubjects on the ruler. When benefitsare distributed on a wide scale and in asystematic manner, it engenders rentierbehavior in society, meaning that anycitizen would be able to receive benefitswithout exerting any particular effort,based on loyalty, narrow alliances, orgeneral affiliation to the state.

Rent is not limited to economic or

financial; it can also be political rent.There are situations when political rentis more important than direct monetaryor economic rent. Such is the case ofLebanon, where the state apparatusitself was transformed into a meansfor political rent (the reproductionof power using the same persons andpolitical currents), in addition to beinga tool for economic rent, throughits control of procedures related to

economic activities, corruption, abuseof public office, bribes, etc.

Royalties are a form of rent basedon force (direct force or coercion,distorting procedures, or imposingthe will of those in power). Royaltiesare used in internal relations andcontracts to receive benefits, but canalso be imposed in external contractualrelations, whether with other countries

or large corporations, when the stateis in a strong negotiating position(for example, oil states could andactually do impose some conditionsthat oblige companies to set aside acertain proportion of employees fortheir nationals, or other conditions oninvestment, which are not supportedby economic rationale, but are directbenefits of rent).

In general, the rentieraspect (economicand political) in Arab countries is

Oil states

are the mostglaring exampleof rentier states


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strong. Sometimes it appears inthe nature of the economy, theperformance of the state apparatus,or in part of the relationship between

ruler and ruled (distribution based onthe whim of the ruler, outside the logicof taxes and rights).

Sociological Perspective:Paternalism and Patriarchy

When the sociological dimension isinfused in the description of a regime,the state is described according to theaspects of the society it represents.

Therefore, the description in thissection is valid for the regime, thestate, and also society.

Some of the most widely used terms indescribing Arab countries and regimesare patriarchy and paternalism. Thesetwo terms refer to a form of traditionalrelation between the ruler and theruled, which cannot be described asa relation of citizenship, but that of

a subject and lord, taking tribal, clan,and family as a socio-cultural model.Despite the similar meaning, there isa difference in the conceptual use ofeach term in sociological or politicalanalysis.

I suggest the usage of paternalismto focus on the care-giving andprotective aspect, inspired by therelationship of the father with his direct

family (in the nuclear family modelmainly). The term patriarchywill beused to focus on the authoritarianaspect, which is more directly linkedto the public sphere and inspired bythe relationship of the head of thetribe, clan, or extended family with itsmembers, different tribes, and otherformations

Political media discourse in the Arabworld is saturated with terms that

compare society with the family,

the ruler with the father, and thecitizens-subjects with children. Theimage of the relationship betweenruler and ruled is informed by daily

doses of social and cultural traditions.In addition, religion is also utilizedas a traditional social and moralconstructand as a meaningful culturalcomponent to bolster paternalisticrelations on all levels.

This model of relationships ischaracterized by the emphasis onrespecting the authority of the olderand more dominant male, both inthe private and public spheres. Thisdiscourse presents the political systemas a natural extension of the family,clan, or tribal system, on which basisit forms a part of its foundations.Respecting and obeying the rulerbecome enshrined as social and culturalvalues on all levels. Chauvinism beginsfeeding the illusion of uniformitybetween the ruler and the male headof the family, transforming the latter

into a small ruler over his sphere ofinfluence. From being a father, hebecomes the ruler of the family. Theactual ruler obtains from this naturalorder certain elements of legitimacy,by emulating a father figure or familypatriarch, transforming him from aruler into a father.

A father earns his legitimacy fromthe family bond and blood relationand needs the authority accorded,in this case, by the patriarchalsystem. However, the ruler who hasthe authority needs the additionallegitimacy accorded from theacquiescence of citizens-subjects tohis rule. Therefore, he attains it fromthe private sphere of the family andthe relationship of a father with hischildren. As a result of this exchangein sources of legitimacy between the

public and the private, both spheresbecome disrupted and the mechanisms


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of upward political and socialtransformation towards democracyare disabled in the public sphere, inaddition to the model of a family

open to dialogue among its members,rather than the authoritarian familymodel. Thus, patriarchal relationsimpede the progress of the stateand the development of the family,simultaneously.

This similarity between the politicalsystem in its patriarchal or paternalisticcapacity, is a source of ongoingdiscrimination against womenand youth (including teenagers andchildren) and is a characteristic inherentin the masculine culture of patriarchy.Particularly in traditional societies,the culture of patriarchy contributesdirectly into shaping the legitimacy ofpolitical authority and its formationthrough electoral mechanisms that aremodern, in form, but whose results canbe controlled through the patriarchalcontrol of the votes of the family by

its leader.This explains the stubborn resistanceto unlocking the potentials of womenand youth and their actual and effectiveparticipation in creating governinginstitutions. Patriarchal culture is asocial and cultural basis for politicalcounter-revolutions (including inthe example of the current Arabrevolutionary mobilization). Aspectsof this culture are often used as ameans to impose undemocraticpolitical choices through provoking therejection of any deep reforms relatedto womens rights in the public sphere,leading thoroughly to the disruptionof democratic transformation.

In general, Arab societies and thepolitical systems of Arab states havea strong patriarchal character, whosesignificance varies according to the

relative strength of traditional social

formations and cultural practicesin society, in addition to the level ofmodernization reached by society inrecent years and its interaction with the

world and the process of globalization.

Tribes, Clans, Families

The characters of tribalism, clannism,and family refer to a regime whoseform and influence are based on suchtraditional social formations thatused to be the source of power andlegitimacy prior to the creation ofnation states in the second quarter

of the 20th century. From a simpletheoretical perspective, the creation ofa nation state presupposes the creationof a strong national bond, which canrise above the ties of tribe, clan, orfamily. This leads to the retreat ofthose formations from their politicalroles, remaining as social formationsas long as they are needed, withoutexaggeration, but also without a directpolitical role (according to the conceptof the modern state).

But this did not happen in Arabcountries (or in other Third Worldcountries in general), where traditional(pre-capitalist) social formations had amajor part in creating state institutionsand ensuring the continuity of theregime. The most obvious example oftribal states is the GCC, where rulingauthorities are the owners, such as in

tribes. Also in Yemen, the tribe is oneof the main foundations of the state,the army, and authority, in addition tobeing the prevailing order in society.Familial and tribal elements are presentinside most Arab states.

Also in this respect, there is no needto mention that family here hasnothing to do to the transformationof some regimes from their original

form (republics) during inception, into

This similarity

betweenthe politicalsystem in its

patriarchal orpaternalistic

capacity,is a sourceof ongoing

discriminationagainst women

and youth


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the past few decadesand the thrivingof forms of authoritarianism, lackof democracy, and the failure ofeconomic and social development.

Ending corruption, while a legitimatepopular demand, does not carry strongimplications related to alternatives,outside moral implications, or in termsof abiding by the law outside mereprocedure.

Many times it seems that thephenomenon of corruption is almostcertainly linked to the rentier andauthoritarian state or to the stateas a public sphere. But this is notalways true. Corruption also exists indemocratic countries, but it is moreblatant in undemocratic states, whichlack control over rulers, and in rentierstates, due to the presence of resourcesthat could be exploited from outsidethe mechanisms of production. Inthis sense, corruption became anorganic component of the globalizedneoliberal system, due to the growth

of monetary economy and itsdisengagement from real economy.4Giant multinationals are one of theprimary sources of global corruption,influenced by the sheer size of wealththey control. In fact, it is difficult toenvision actual corruption in theThird World (meaning high-leveland high-cost political and economiccorruption) without internationalcompanies and establishments,

whose management is often a fullpartner in the economic activity andpolitical and economic transactionsin those countries.

The spread of bribery in a particularcountry, in different levels ofadministration, is the generalization

4 Nehme, Adib, Globalization and theSocio-economic Dimensions of the ArabMobilization (in Arabic), paper presented to

the ESCWA conference, Beirut, 25-26 August2011.

of corruption. It can be seen as a formof redistribution [of wealth] amongsocial segments, in favor of employeesand intermediaries. When the practice

becomes widely spread, it should beunderstood that his happens withthe knowledge and agreement of theregime leadership. More so, it couldbe one of the realistic manners ofensuring a safety net for employees,in particular, to offset low wages andpave the way for career and livelihoodmobility, to compensate for thedeadlock in the upward social mobilityof some segments.

From the perspective of form ofadministration and its workingmethods, clientelism is one of thetypes and manifestations of statecorruption and its retreat from its ownprocedures and systems. Clientelismentails nepotism, appointment ofrelatives and loyalists in public andprivate positions, preferring them invarious contracts with no right, using

connections and private and personalrelationships rather than respectinglaws and regulations, and the spread ofwasta[intermediary connections] andother practices.

Clientelism is a way for generalizingcorruption and distribution ofrents resulting from corruption, inorder to bolster political rent andrenew dedications (employment ofaccountants in state institutions).It is one of the ways to distributeeconomic, monetary, and politicalrent, which can be used to be a formof counter-revolution or the creationof a counterforce against change andrevolution.

Generally speaking, the concept ofcorruption is narrow and cannotexplain the system of exchange ofbenefits or royalty above a certain

level of proliferation, when its practice

corruption

becamean organic

component ofthe globalized

neoliberalsystem, due

to the growthof monetary

economyand itsdisengagement

from realeconomy


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becomes generalized. Thus, anotherapproach will be needed.

The Need for a New ConceptThe terms, concepts, and expressionsmentioned above are all used to describeArab states and regimes. All of them I believe are an expression of extantcharacteristics and attributes. They arenot necessarily contradictory and cancoexist inside one regime. Some arespecific, others might be generalized,and they might even contain severalother secondary concepts.

But there remains a need for a moregeneralizedconcept, which expressesthe common feature between mostArab countries, despite the differentregimes. The concept should penetrateinto the common essence of thesum of Arab regimes, to arrive atthe hypothesis of a virtual (abstract)single regime. The compoundconcept should absorb, at the same

time, several or most of the secondaryconcepts and terminologies mentionedabove. Simply put, if the politicalsystem of a particular country wasdictatorial, individualistic, securitarian,patriarchal, and with a corruptadministration, for example, will it bepossible to use a more generalized andessential concept? Could the conceptrepresent the essential characteristics ofsuch a regime, whereby other features

become manifestations or specificforms of this fundamental property,or even its outcomes and impact?Can we find a concept that allows usto discover what is common betweena statist dictatorial Arab country anda globalized neoliberal one, if it doesexist?

On this basis, the concept we look forbelongs to a more abstract analytical

space, but I think that such a concept is

possible and it exists. It can be used toanalyze the recent social mobilizationin Arab countries to add an importantdimension to the analysis, going

beyond spectacle and narrow politicsto comprehend what happenedand help explore the challenges oftransformation and its potential anddesired outcomes.

In this regard, we suggest the use of theconcept and term of neopatrimonialstate, in the sense of neo-patrimonial, based on Max Webersconcept of the patrimonial state.

Origin of the Concept

Sociologist Max Weber distinguishesbetween two forms of governance.In essence, the first is the moderncapitalist governance, based on thecapitalist economic rationality,5which gains its legitimacy from generalelections. It is run by a neutral andstate apparatus (bureaucracy) that is

relatively autonomous from the ruler,based on written rules and regulationapplied to everyone. The second isthe traditional system in the sens

arab watch on social rights 2012.pdf

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