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The Middle East Exchange

56 commentaries

In the face of regional turmoil, exacerbated by the rise of the Islamic State, many Arab governments are embracing a new solution-oriented agenda – focused on economic diversification, improved education systems, and private-sector-led growth – to stimulate reform and development. In “The Middle East Exchange” Project Syndicate, in partnership with Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, provides a unique global platform to help frame and stimulate regional and global debate on the vital development issues shaping Arab societies.

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  1. Ending Religious Violence in the Middle East
    Sharia law, refugee camp in Pakistan Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images

    Ending Religious Violence in the Middle East

    Dec 8, 2016 Moha Ennaji argues that the problem is not Islam, but inadequate social and economic policies.

  2. Training for Gender Equality
    Female dentist students Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images

    Training for Gender Equality

    Dec 1, 2016 Arib Ali Al-Mandhari recommends strategies for empowering women to play a more active role in Middle Eastern societies.

  3. Egypt and Tunisia’s Divergent Paths
    4th anniversary of Egypt Revolution Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

    Egypt and Tunisia’s Divergent Paths

    Nov 22, 2016 Ishac Diwan explores how each country's political system will determine its future economic prospects.

  4. An Economic Ultimatum for the Arab World
    5 year anniversary of Arab Spring Fethi Belaid/Getty Images

    An Economic Ultimatum for the Arab World

    Nov 16, 2016 Marwan Muasher says that unless Arab countries move away from rentierism, they risk another wave of uprisings.

  5. The Secret of Dubai’s Success
    Dubai Skyline Andrew Holbrooke/Getty Images

    The Secret of Dubai’s Success

    Nov 11, 2016 Yasser Al-Saleh explains how a city-state with limited resources became a global economic and cultural hub.

  6. Can Lebanon Escape the Resource Curse?
    Beruit Skyline Anwar Amro/Getty Images

    Can Lebanon Escape the Resource Curse?

    Nov 3, 2016 Nasser Saidi says the country could transform itself with oil and gas production if it adopts key reforms now.

Our Pick

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  1. carstens5_Getty Images_finternet Getty Images
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    The Rise of the Finternet

    Agustín Carstens & Nandan Nilekani foresee a world in which cheap, secure, and near-instantaneous financial transactions are available to all.
  2. rodrik222_Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china solar panel Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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    Don’t Fret About Green Subsidies

    Dani Rodrik sees no good argument against industrial policies that accelerate growth in decarbonization industries.
  3. gros186_Sean GallupGetty Images_euro Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Europe’s Geoeconomic Competitiveness Challenge

    Daniel Gros highlights the security risks raised by the prolonged decline of the EU’s relative economic power.
  4. op_ang1_retrorocketGetty Images_corruption retrorocket/Getty Images
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    How Exceptional Is China’s Crony-Capitalist Boom?

    Yuen Yuen Ang

    While both the American and Chinese Gilded Ages raised material standards of living for hundreds of millions of people, their endemic corruption produced radically unequal and unsustainable growth. Ultimately, both periods offer cautionary tales about unbridled crony capitalism, not models for blind emulation.

     explains how corruption both drove the country's GDP growth and sowed the seeds for its current economic problems.
  5. bp india election Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images
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    Will India’s Election Destroy Its Democracy?

    Since taking power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have stoked Hindu nationalism, hollowed out India’s democracy, and overseen an economy that is probably performing far worse than official figures suggest. And yet Modi and the BJP are genuinely popular, making them likely – though not certain – to emerge victorious when the ongoing parliamentary election concludes in June.

  6. benami213_YEHUDA RAIZNERAFP via Getty Images_israelflag Yehuda Raizner/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Unbearable Lightness of Anti-Zionism

    Shlomo Ben-Ami warns that demonizing all Israelis will only make peace less likely – though that may be the point.
  7. alfredsdottir1_Getty Images_pay gap Getty Images
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    How to Close the Gender Wage Gap

    Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir argues that Iceland’s experience lends further support to Nobel laureate economist Claudia Goldin’s research.
  8. brown107_Jeff J Mitchell - Pool Getty Images_covidvaccine Jeff J. Mitchell/Pool/Getty Images
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    Getting the Pandemic Treaty Across the Finish Line

    Gordon Brown hopes negotiations will conclude this month, and pushes back on a last-minute wave of misinformation.
  9. singer231_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_college protests Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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    When Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitic?

    Peter Singer rejects comparisons of the recent US campus protests to the actions of Nazi student groups in the 1930s.

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