Die Beziehungen zwischen den Staaten und Gesellschaften des Nahen Ostens und Nordafrikas (MENA) befinden sich auch fast ein Jahrzehnt nach den Aufständen von 2011 noch im Wandel. Die Revolten drückten eine weit verbreitete Ablehnung der damaligen Gesellschaftsverträge aus. Diese basierten auf...

Près d’une décennie après le ‘printemps arabe’, les relations entre les États et les sociétés des pays du Moyen-Orient et d’Afrique du Nord (région MENA) sont en pleine évolution. Les soulèvements exprimaient un rejet généralisé des contrats sociaux arabes postindépendance,...

Le contrat social est un concept clé des sciences sociales portant sur les relations entre l'État et la société. Il renvoie à l'en-semble des accords explicites ou implicites intervenant entre tous les groupes sociaux concernés et le souverain (c.-à-d. le gouvernement ou tout autre acteur...

State-society relations are in flux across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), nearly a decade after the Arab uprisings. The protests and revolts that swept the region in 2011 arose from widespread rejection of the post-independence Arab social contracts. These were based on redistribution...

2021 is proving to be a key year for cooperation between Europe and its neighbours in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. As the European Union (EU) launches its new multiannual budget, the COVID-19 pandemic has demanded a rethink of the political, economic and social priorities that...

2021 ist ein wichtiges Jahr für die Zusammenarbeit Europas mit seinen Nachbarn im Nahen Osten und in Nordafrika (MENA). Die Corona-Pandemie zwang die Europäische Union (EU) bei der Erstellung ihres neuen Mehrjahreshaushalts, die politischen, wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Prioritäten ihrer...

Global threats to democracy – one of the world’s most important forms of inclusive governance – have been rising recently. This paper assesses the effects of social and economic inequalities on autocratisation, meaning a decline in the democratic qualities of a political regime. The key...

Evidence exists that democracies are particularly stable, yet also that processes of democratisation are highly susceptible to conflict, especially if democratisation occurs in the aftermath of violent conflict. New research from the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für...

At the 10-year anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution, which toppled decades of dictatorship and repositioned discussions about democracy across the Middle East and North Africa, the democratic transition in Tunisia is in flux, or rather at an impasse. On the one hand, Tunisia is celebrated as...

The question of whether and how democracy can be promoted and protected through international support has recently gained relevance. On the one hand, the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan has reignited a public debate on the limits of democracy promotion. On the other hand, the need for...