Investing in a More Robust Public Policy Environment in the Middle East

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2011 – The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Middle East Program Director Jon Alterman has written a new policy paper calling for enhanced investment to develop human capital and strengthen public policy environments in the region. The paper is titled “Investing in a More Robust Public Policy Environment in the Middle East.”

Please find a link to the full paper below:
http://csis.org/files/publication/110627_RBF_Public_Policy_Paper.pdf

Please find an executive summary of the paper prepared by Dr. Alterman below:

The time is ripe for supporting a more robust public policy environ¬ment in the Middle East. The Arab Spring revealed a drive among populations to address public policy problems and a need by govern¬ments to devise better solutions to those problems than they have in the past. Yet developing human capi¬tal and strengthening public policy environments require long-term, sustained investment. They also re¬quire donor restraint: areas of seem¬ingly peripheral concern (i.e., health and education) will be more likely to garner Arab leaders’ buy-in than hot-button issues of greatest interest to Western donors. The right kind of support can help enhance receptiv¬ity to public policy discussions, fos¬ter sustainable business models for civil society organizations, and cre¬ate a supply of policy entrepreneurs in the region.
 
This report was made possible through the generous support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

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The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.