The MENA Region’s Uneasy Path Towards Reforms

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THE MENA REGION’S UNEASY PATH TOWARDS REFORMS

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Decade-old geopolitical transformations have impacted the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) efforts to implement socioeconomic reforms. More recently, the Ukraine war’s reverberations are also likely to affect the MENA countries’ paths towards such reforms. In this context, what different trajectories and approaches have North African and Gulf establishments adopted so far? In which areas have regional governments focused their reform efforts? Will Algeria be able to turn the high oil revenues into an opportunity for reforming its energy sector? Will Tunisian President Kais Saied succeed in implementing the necessary reforms to prevent the country’s economic collapse while avoiding the risk of escalating social tensions? What are the effects of the massive infrastructure projects undertaken by President el-Sisi on the Egyptian socioeconomic fabric? How is the increasing great power competition influencing the Gulf countries’ chance to strengthen socioeconomic conditions and enhance institutions for good governance at the domestic level? This Dossier is a joint effort by the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) and the Atlantic Council’s North Africa Program. It builds on the first one launched in July 2022, which examines the United States’ future role in the MENA and how international actors fit into the shifting geopolitical order within the region.