“There is an initial willingness in the Arab region to democratize, though this tendency remains at an embryonic stage.  A large gap exists between the measurement of the means and the practices of democratic transition, a phenomenon that was clearly documented by the Index,” says Khalil Shikaki, lead editor of the report.

The network, made up of such regional players as King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Saudi Arabia; The Gulf Research Center, UAE; Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and The Arab Reform Forum at the Bibliotheca, Egypt, and others throughout the Middle East and North Africa, seeks to utilize the Index as an objective and sensible mechanism to measure change in the democratic process. ARI demanded an urgent need in the Arab world to guarantee greater political and civil freedom. It also stressed the need to make issues of social justice and social and economic rights the core of the reform process.  This would need to happen while also reforming education by allocating bigger budgets, combating illiteracy, reducing the school drop-out rate, and improving the conditions of education, especially for females.

The study measures forty indicators to gauge four major values and principles relevant to the democratization process: strong and accountable public institutions, respect for rights and freedoms, the rule of law, and equality and social justice.  The selected indicators measure daily political, economic and social issues, and reflect the entire democratic decision-making process

“The experience of the past two decades shows that there is no single formula for democratic transition, regardless of whether it is on a positive or negative course. Our purpose, rather, is to gauge political organization based on the criteria that people are the source of power, and that the system should reflect the popular will.  This should occur while ensuring justice and equality through participation in the decision-making process,” said Bassma Kodmani, executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative.

The report found that genuine change requires transformation in three areas: laws and an electoral process that integrate all sectors of society and eliminate discrimination; the development of tax systems based on progressive taxation and a just distribution of wealth and the development of an education system with firm moral and social foundations and based on the principles of pluralism and secularism.