Book

Arab Uprisings are remarked as the turning point in the destiny of the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. The unpredictable chain of Arab Uprisings protests has caught the governments of Arab states and the international community by surprise. The massive uprisings that a few countries in the region had witnessed led to political transitions in some and dire sociopolitical repercussions in others. This pro-democracy popular mobility has ushered in a series of events that turned the course of history in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It also precipitated a prolonged era of civil conflicts and political instability in the region. Right before the eruption of Arab uprisings, the long-standing autocratic models of governments in the region were relatively stable. When social unrest erupted in the MENA region, the region was sustaining high levels of social and economic development during the decade preceding the Arab uprisings. However, the Arab population’s dissatisfaction with their standards of living was escalating. The onset of public anger was unpredictable as the aggregate indicators of economic development failed to capture the public discontent with economic deterioration, standards of living, and social and economic justice. The burst of uprisings raised attention to social issues like inclusion, income inequality, vulnerability to poverty, and deprivation, which were all cited as the main triggers behind the public protests in the MENA region. The interaction of economic, political, and institutional factors has shaped the terms of transitions and the consequent socio-economic situation in the Arab World. The study focuses on development aspects like vulnerability to poverty, inequality of income distribution, and inequality of opportunity across the Arab region in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings. It aims to provide dynamic measures of well-being that fit in with the transitional context of Arab uprisings. It is also intended to incorporate innovative empirical approaches that are accommodated to deal with the lack of panel data required for making transitional analyses.