Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Robert P. Beschel

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2020-12-01

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0815736983

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Critical examinations of efforts to make governments more efficient and responsive Political upheavals and civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have obscured efforts by many countries in the region to reform their public sectors. Unwieldy, unresponsive—and often corrupt—governments across the region have faced new pressure, not least from their publics, to improve the quality of public services and open up their decisionmaking processes. Some of these reform efforts were under way and at least partly successful before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2010. Reform efforts have continued in some countries despite the many upheavals since then. This book offers a comprehensive assessment of a wide range of reform efforts in nine countries. In six cases the reforms targeted core systems of government: Jordan's restructuring of cabinet operations, the Palestinian Authority's revision of public financial management, Morocco's voluntary retirement program, human resource management reforms in Lebanon, an e-governance initiative in Dubai, and attempts to improve transparency in Tunisia. Five other reform efforts tackled line departments of government, among them Egypt's attempt to improve tax collection and Saudi Arabia's work to improve service delivery and bill collection. Some of these reform efforts were more successful than others. This book examines both the good and the bad, looking not only at what each reform accomplished but at how it was implemented. The result is a series of useful lessons on how public sector reforms can be adopted in MENA.


Public Administration and Policy in the Middle East

Public Administration and Policy in the Middle East

Author: Alexander R. Dawoody

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-09-22

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 1493915533

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The various and different Middle Eastern countries are addressing new key reform and governance reform processes but also administration and policy issues of enduring importance; decentralization and local government, non-profit organizations, political culture, and reform of the policy process. This book provides assessment of national strategies for reform in public administration and policy, how these strategies have fared in implementation; and what challenges must be overcome to achieve real and sustainable progress. Seven country case studies will explore the overall policy-making process from a critical perspective and consider how it could be strengthened. Four cases will deal with the controversial issues of decentralization of power and decision-making. Two cases will address the role of civil society in the policymaking and reform process. Introductory and concluding chapters will place these discussions in context and draw the primary lessons for policy-makers. The main objectives of the book are to present different examples of specific public policy and administration, as well as governance issues in the Middle East so that policymakers (both in the region and the world who are interested in the Middle East), as well as practitioners, scholars and graduate students can utilize the book as a study guide to better understand various dynamics in governance in the Middle East. This approach will enable the volume to bridge global perspectives on governance development with regional perspectives and experience, bringing shared expertise, intellectual inquisitiveness, and experience in the professional practice of public policy and administration to bear on these common challenges.


Reform in the Arab World

Reform in the Arab World

Author: Talmiz Ahmad

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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September 11 provided a vision and a strategy to a US Presidency that until then had been groping for fresh ideas and a relevant foreign policy. The 'global war on terror' now became an article of faith for the United States. The US Government, media and think-tanks turned their attention to Islam, the Arab world and Saudi Arabia, and held them responsible for the catastrophe unleashed upon the Americans. Reform of religion, of politics and economics, of education, and of cultural and religious life thus became the new buzz-word. This new focus on 'reform', whatever the motivation of its protagonists, had the effect of igniting a reform - related debate across the Arab world. Academics, journalists, businessmen and political figures, and, frequently, government leaders, all of them participated in this resounding cacophony for reform, discussing issues of political, economic, social, religious and cultural change with unprecedented freedom. The discussion about reform is still in full flow, yielding in its wake some satisfaction that debates are underway that will decide the destiny of the Arab person. This monograph provides an account of this extraordinary intellectual ferment in the Arab world and the attempts of governments, Arab and foreign, to cope politically and intellectually with these new challenges. -- Back jacket.


Administrative Reform in Developing Nations

Administrative Reform in Developing Nations

Author: Ali Farazmand

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2001-11-30

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0313074127

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Under pressure from the World Bank, the International Monetary Funds and the World Trade Organization governments of both industrialized and less developed nations have undertaken extensive reforms and reorganization to streamline their public sectors. This volume, with chapters written by authorities from around the world, provides information on administrative reform in varied nations. Following an introduction, which sets a theoretical framework, the book contains sections devoted to Asia, the Near/Middle East, Africa, and a comparison of East/South Europe and Asia. Administrative reform has become a widespread challenge to national and sub-national governments around the globe. Under pressure from the World Bank, the International Monetary Funds and the World Trade Organization governments of both industrialized and less developed nations have undertaken extensive reforms and reorganization to streamline their public sectors. This volume, with chapters written by authorities from around the world, provides information on administrative reform in varied nations. Developing nations face acute problems on a daily basis, making administrative reform an essential function of public administration. With chapters devoted to experiences in such nations as Korea, India, Iran, Turkey, the Arab States, Nigeria, and South Africa, this volume sheds valuable light on administrative reform in developing countries and provides lessons for future policy actions.


Politics Without Process

Politics Without Process

Author: Jamil E. Jreisat

Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 9781555873332

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A critique of the institutional systems and practices that define, and in many cases limit, the administrative state in the Arab world, this study centres on the factors contributing to the failure of development efforts. This book looks at the way context and culture affect state capacity.


Administration and Development in the Arab World

Administration and Development in the Arab World

Author: Jamil Jreisat

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-22

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 1317245938

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This book, first published in 1986, examines the literature on administration, human resources and development in the Arab world. It emphasizes contemporary societies and their internal dynamics, the least known and most critical aspects of Arabic studies.