Arab Reform Bulletin: A Look at Pluralism and Political Progress

In its two most recent offerings, the Arab Reform Bulletin assesses the political landscape in both Algeria and Kuwait. Journalist Mahmoud Belhimer, troubled by the failure of recent government initiatives to alleviate Algeria’s ongoing economic turmoil and build a higher level of democratic pluralism, wonders how a forthcoming generational shift in political leadership might affect Algeria’s democratic trajectory. Yet regardless of who succeeds President Bouteflika, Belhimer contends that “the next president will not succeed in establishing true stability and prosperity if he maintains the approach of keeping power in the hands of a few and preventing popular political participation and government accountability.”

ARB editor Michele Dunne has a piece up as well, in which she relays the contents of an interview with Dr. Rola Dashti, a Kuwaiti democratic activist and one of the first four women to ever be elected to Kuwait’s parliament in 2009. Check out the full exchange here.