By Alon Ben-Meir

Due to a host of common denominators in the Arab world including the lack of traditional liberalism, the tribes’ power, the elites’ control of business, the hold on power by ethnic minorities, the military that cling to power, and the religious divide and Islamic extremism, the Arab Spring could sadly turn into a long and cruel winter. These factors are making the transformation into a more reformist governance, slow, filled with hurdles and punctuated with intense bloodshed. At the same time, each Arab country differs characteristically from one another on other dimensions including: history and culture, demographic composition, the role of the military, resources, and geostrategic situations. This combination of commonality and uniqueness has had, and will continue to have, significant impacts on how the uprising in each Arab country evolves and what kind of political order might eventually emerge.

syrialooks /Foter

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Whether western countries and ME liberals like it or not, Islamic parties have emerged victorious in elections in North African states. Before typecasting and dismissing them, Islamic parties deserve to get a fair chance at leading their people.

The Western world and media are terrified of the rise of Islamic parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. READ MORE HERE

Arab countries that have recently been liberated from the clutches of their dictators are searching for a path to prosperity. For many, the political and social and economic achievements of Turkey is worthy of emulation. Indeed, the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is somewhat seen as a rock star among the youth of the Arab world.

But a new study by Legatum Institute, focused on the prosperity of nations, wonders whether Arab countries could consider alternative growth models. READ MORE HERE

The Arab Spring not only cost at least three dictators their jobs but also $56-billlion in lost GDP for the worst affected countries, according to a statistical study by a consulting firm. READ MORE HERE

As Tunisia prepares for elections in October, the chronic and fundamental weaknesses in the country’s political and economic structures are becoming evident.

While long-standing structural issues will take some time to address, external factors – such as economic problems in key trading partner Europe, and civil war in neighbouring Libya _ are further straining fragile economic growth. This has left many Tunisians wondering if a grassroots revolution will not help alleviate their lot, what will? READ MORE HERE

You won’t find Anas Sefrioui on  the Forbes richest list, but that does not mean he is not worthy of  their attention. Having raked in $2.6-billion, he has made it into Bloomberg’s short list of hidden billionaires.

The newswire notes that Sefrioui founded the property development company  Douja Promotion Groupe Addoha in 1988.

“With the help of government subsidies, the company has built more than  190,000 homes spanning almost 15,000 acres throughout Morocco.
It has diversified into cement and resorts… Sefrioui earned more than  $330million by selling shares during the company’s 2006 public offering
on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, filings show.”

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Spring is nearly six months old. It is time to take stock, remember those who lost their lives and continue to fight, and hand out some well-deserved awards to the key players.

The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, asked the rhetorical question ‘What Country Handled Arab Spring The Best? His own answer: Morocco.

But he left the discussion at that. Given that the Arab Spring is just about six months old, alifarabia.com was inspired to take stock of how the various countries have handled a revolution that has smashed Middle East dogmas, broken the will of Arab strongmen and given hopes to millions not just in the Arab World but also around the world.

The Middle East has seen more public participation in politics in the past six months than it has done over the past 50 years. Much to the shock of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak and Moamer Qaddhafi, the people of the Arab World launched a unique coup that they could not have fathom and never saw coming. These strongmen were looking to suppress indigenous Islamic movements, the radicals, Al-Qaeda sympathisers, the socialists, the Shiaas and the sufis. They were looking for tangible forces they could fight, and suppress and imprison and maim – as they had done in the past.

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In a landmark speech the Moroccan king offered to reduce his powers under a new more democratic Constitution. Can this overture quell political descent and serve as a role model for other monarchies? READ MORE HERE

Close to $1.6-trillion worth of projects are cancelled or are on hold in the Middle East and East North African market, with $800-billion in the UAE alone, according to Citibank. The statistics are a reflection of the hangover of the leveraged days in the region when billion dollar projects were announced virtually every other day. Read More Here

Jordan and Morocco’s possible inclusion in the Gulf is a political move rather than an economic one, but there might be other – unlikely – candidates in the region far suitable for the purpose.

The potential inclusion of Morocco and Jordan in the GCC fold should be taken for what it is – a political move by the Gulf states to widen their sphere of influence in the region. Read More Here