Three reports written by Arab researchers indicate that democratic reform is welcomed broadly by citizens in four Arab countries, who want to see their courts, media and parliaments become more independent. IFES and the Arab Center for the Development of Rule of Law and Integrity, or ACRLI, released their final comparative reports covering Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon and Jordan at an event in Washington, D.C. on May 10.

“These reports, written entirely by Arabs, debunk the myth that Arabs are not ready or supportive of good governance and the rule of law,” said Keith Henderson, IFES senior associate. Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa Maggie Salem offered welcoming remarks at the event and Research Manager Rakesh Sharma discussed the methodology used to create the reports.

Researchers from ACRLI randomly surveyed hundreds of lawyers, judges, journalists and parliamentarians, as well as members of the general public from April 2005-September 2006. They also reviewed existing Arab and international constitutions, laws and research, in addition to conducting targeted focus groups. The United Nations Development Programme funded the project and IFES provided technical assistance to ACRLI.

The comparative reports examine, for the first time and in great detail, the state of the parliament, media and judiciary systems in major cities in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. Respondents were asked to rate these institutions according to key factors including independence, integrity, efficiency and competence.

Glass Half Empty, Half Full

A lack of independence for journalists, parliamentarians, judges and lawyers was one of the main issues identified by both Arab professionals and the general public.

In the judicial survey, experts from all four countries said that external pressures interfere with the independence and efficient enforcement of judicial decisions. Most of the experts surveyed also said that judges do not enjoy their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or freedom to associate. Egyptian experts were the most likely to voice these concerns.

Nathan Brown, who consulted on the judicial report, said greater political will from within Arab governments is needed to see real change.

Nathan Brown, a political science and international affairs professor at George Washington University, said that while the reports highlight many problems they also reflect the “rich dialogue” that Arab judicial experts have been having for years. Brown worked as an adviser on the judicial report and is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Brown said the reports achieved two important goals. First, they gathered basic and current information about the state of these institutions, data that is often difficult to obtain. They also set the Middle East’s first benchmarks and standards for evaluating democratic institutions.

“What this really was was an attempt to push a regional dialogue forward rather than to invent one,” he said.

Survey respondents identified several important challenges to judicial reform including problems related to a weak infrastructure and a lack of ongoing training for judicial personnel. Executive domination of the judiciary emerged as one of the most important recurring themes.

“It’s very difficult to talk about judicial reform in the Arab World without getting to some core political issues, some core governance issues,” said Brown.

Greater Political Will Needed

As a result, the overall state of the judiciary in these countries is best characterized as “glass half-empty or half-full,” he said. While there are many people engaged in lively discussion and are increasingly willing to propose democratic reforms, simple technical solutions alone will not solve these problems. There must be greater political will from within the governments to change.

Amy Hawthorne, founding director of the Hollings Center (officially the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue) continued the “glass half-empty or half-full” analogy in her own assessment of Arab media. Hawthorne, who worked as a senior advisor on the project, said she has witnessed “tremendous change and progress” take place within Arab media in the last decade, with “greater pluralism, vibrancy, brave reporting and discussions of taboo issues.” However, the reports show that the same media fail to live up to the expectations of most Arab citizens.

IFES Research Manager Rakesh Sharma said the project included in-depth country studies by experts, surveys and focus groups.

“It’s obvious that Arab media falls very short of being an independent media that could be a pillar of a democratic system,” said Hawthorne.

Almost 80 percent of media experts surveyed in Egypt agreed that government censorship significantly hinders their independence. Jordan was next with 65 percent. Only about a quarter of the public surveyed in Jordan and Egypt said the media can report openly “to a large extent.”

Hawthorne said the legal framework and economic market to support a viable, independent media remain undeveloped. In addition, Arab citizens still view media as tools of partisan politics, whether the outlets are owned by government and non-government entities.

“The concept of media as something independent is still very, very undeveloped,” she said.

Hawthorne added that creating a free Arab media will not only mean facing Arab regimes that have little political will to relinquish control over the media, but also ambivalence from Western governments that do not always welcome media criticism of their policies.

The event did not discuss the findings of the parliament report. That report indicates that two-thirds of Jordanian parliamentary experts and about a third of their counterparts in the other countries said parliament is pressured by government “to a large degree.”

Overall, the data showed that the judiciary was strongest in Egypt, the media strongest in Lebanon and the parliament equally strong in Egypt and Jordan, although none of these institutions received high marks in any country.

In January, more than 200 Arab officials, judges, lawyers, parliamentarians, journalists, academics and community leaders discussed and debated preliminary findings in the reports during back-to-back conferences in Cairo and Amman. Henderson said he hopes Arab governments will use the final reports to address their citizens’ concerns.

“These reports are a unified call for reform from the Arab people themselves,” said Henderson. “The question is whether Arab leaders will listen.”