Nine Years of Uprisings… The Middle East and North Africa launch of the Global State of Democracy 2019 Report: Addressing the Ills, Reviving the Promise

The Middle East and North Africa launch of The Global State of Democracy 2019: Addressing the Ills, Reviving the Promise, the second edition of International IDEA’s flagship report will take place in Tunis on 25 November 2019

The Global State of Democracy 2019 Report provides a health check of the state of the world’s democracy, analysing trends, opportunities and challenges that are seen across various regions and within regions. The analysis is based on the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices, an index produced by International IDEA that measures democratic performance across 158 countries from 1975 to today.

The report aims to inform the global democracy debate with evidence and data and provide a nuanced analysis of how opportunities and challenges to democracy play out in different ways around the world, shaped by regional and country contexts. Beyond the diagnostic and in order to help rebalance the current democracy debate, the report also seeks to provide policy recommendations, building on the good practices and cases which have shown resilience in the face of challenges. These have been collected through International IDEA’s more than 20 years of regional and country-level technical assistance in democratic reform throughout the world.

The Tunis launch, which will be inaugurated by his Excellence Guillermo Ardizone García, Ambassador of Spain in Tunisia, aims to discuss the findings of the Global State of Democracy 2019 related to Tunisia, Libya, and the rest of North Africa and the Middle East, highlighting the main advances and regression made on the GSoD dimensions since the 2010-2011 uprisings, and to foster dialogue on possible scenarios on improving the state of democracy in the region. This half-day event will gather representatives of political parties, international and local civil society organizations, media, academics, and government representatives.

Panelists will explore the evolution of and the current situation regarding key democratic attributes. International IDEA’s GSoD Framework comprises five attributes: Representative Government, Fundamental Rights, Checks on Government, Impartial Administration and Participatory Engagement. The event will also be enriched by the guest appearance of Rola Badran, Regional Representative MENA from the Danish Institute for Human Rights; Chafik Sarsar, former Chairperson of the Arab Organization for Election Management Bodies; Salsabil Klibi, Constitutional Law Professor and Vice chairperson of the Arab Association for Constitution Law; and Youssef Cherif, Deputy Director at Columbia Global Centers.