No, you did not misread the headline. Stereotyping and prejudice against the politically ambitious Islamists within Arab countries creates friction among societies looking to move ahead. Representation is reality. People live a world of their own construct; their environment is mediated by images and representations of ‘the other’ that dictate […]

Civil society potentially has the power to force economic policies that change the world; but what if it’s barely keeping itself alive? Civil Society Organization laws in the Arab world are extremely restrictive, impeding the rights and powers of such organizations. A vibrant civil society arena is typically reflective of […]

  A newspaper was confiscated, its chief editor on trial at the moment, another TV channel suspended, two other media outlets being judicially pursued for “defaming the president”, and regular columnists known to be critical of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood allege they have been banned from writing. The much-respected Committee to […]

This article was originally drafted by the African Center for Economic Transformation for the newsletter “West Africa Trends” as part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Searchlight Process. For more Searchlight content on futurechallenges.org, please click here. It has been said that “failing to plan is like planning to fail” and this has also […]

The International Olympic Committee is certainly not bashful about proclaiming its lofty ideals. The Olympics, it says, is about placing sport – silver platter style – at the “service of humanity and to thereby promote peace”. The iconic Olympic rings themselves signify a kind of brotherhood or “union between men”. […]