Brand

Transitional Governance Project

Status:

Ongoing

 

Date:

2015-Present

 

Overview:

The Transitional Governance Project (TGP) is a portal for gathering and disseminating research and data on governance in transitional societies in the Middle East and North Africa and beyond. It exists to build community, enhance scholars’ understanding of the pressures and processes of governance, and support policymakers engaged in improving development across a range of political contexts. The TGP spans several subject areas—service delivery, representation, electoral and identity politics (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity), transparency, and methodology—and contributes to a range of important research questions in the social sciences.

The Transitional Governance Project grew out of the synergistic efforts of several researchers who have conducted electoral surveys in the MENA since the late 2000s, beginning with work in Morocco and Algeria in 2007 (Benstead and Lust), and expanding after the Arab spring in 2011 to Egypt (Lust, Soltan, and Wichmann), Tunisia (Benstead, Lust, and Malouche), Libya (Benstead, Lust, and Wichmann), and Jordan (Lust, Kao, and Benstead).

 

Areas of Interest: 

The Transitional Governance Project is a collaborative aimed at enhancing our understanding of the pressures, processes and prospects for government transitions in order to support policymakers engaged in improving governance. Since our formation in 2012 the TGP brings broad experience across many regions of the non-democratic world.

Our project areas include:

• Political processes: supports election processes and party development
• Identities and ideologies: Focus on ethnic, religious and other conflicts
• People - women, youth, and minorities: Focus on disadvantaged citizens and their preferences.

TGP studies are based on public opinion polling, systematic qualitative interviews, and analyses of electoral results. Findings are disseminated through workshops and consultations with government officials, NGOs, the media and political parties; public lectures and writings.

 

Presentations

  • Why Did the Arab Uprisings Turn Out as They Did? A Survey of the Literature

    POMED Snapshot August 2017 Read

  • Tunisian elections bring hope in uncertain times

    Washington Post / Monkey Cage Blog, October 27 2014 Read

  • Libya's Security Dilemma

    Washington Post / Monkey Cage Blog, April 7 2014 Read

  • Committed to Democracy and Unity

    Public Opinion Survey in Libya (in collaboration with National Democratic Institute and Diwan Market Research), March 2014

  • Libya: what has halted postwar reconstruction

    Sanlian Lifeweek Magazine, China, November 2013 Read

  • Seking Security

    Public Opinion Survey in Libya (in collaboration with National Democratic Institute and Diwan Market Research), November 2013 Read

  • Winners and Losers After Arab Spring

    Yale Global, August 28 2013 Read

  •  Believing In Democracy

    Public Opinion Survey in Libya (in collaboration with National Democratic Institute and Diwan Market Research), August 2013

  • It's Morning in Libya

    Foreign Affairs, August 6, 2013 Read

  • Egypt's Swinging Centre

    Aljazeera.com, July 26, 2013 Read

  •  Islamists Aren't the Obstacle

    Foreign Affairs, February 2013 Read

  • Tunisian Revolution is Work In Progress

    Yale Global, December 2012 Read

  •  Tunisians frustrated, but engaged

    Foreign Policy, December 2012 Read

  • Tunisian Post-Election Survey: Presentation of Initial Results

    December 2012 Read

  • After the Arab Spring: Islamism, Secularism, and Democracy

    Current History, December 2012

  • Three Myths About the Arab Uprisings

    Yale Global, July 2012 Read

  • The Presidential Election in Egypt - Who voted for Whom, and Why?

    Al-Ahram Newspaper, June 2012

Publications

  • Why Libya, Tunisia and Egypt Face Different Obstacles to Democratization

    American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, December 13, 2013 Watch

  • Second Public Opinion Survey Libya

    National Democratic Institute, Washington, USA, December 4, 2013

  • Second Public Opinion Survey in Libya

    Multiparty Conference, Tripoli, Libya, November 12, 2013

  • Libyan Post Election Survey

    American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) conference, Tripoli, Libya, September 30, 2013 Read

  • Understanding Challenges of Political Transition in Post Revolutionary MENA Countries

    National Democratic Institute, Washington, USA, June 27, 2013

  • Understanding Challenges of Political Transition in Post Revolutionary MENA Countries

    USAID, Washington, USA, June 27, 2013

  • Understanding Challenges of Political Transition in Post Revolutionary MENA Countries

    US State Department, Washington, USA, June 26, 2013

  • Transitional Governance Project

    World Bank, Washington, USA, June 3, 2013

  • The First Two Years of Arab Transition

    UNDP, New York, USA May 31, 2013

  •  Transitional Governance Project

    Freedom House, Washington, USA, May 29, 2013 

  • Direction of Reforms in the Middle East (C-SPAN2 video), (with Frederic Wehrey and Marwan Muasher)

    Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, USA, May 28, 2013

  • Comparative Electoral Systems & Electoral Engagement, National Democratic Institute Political Party Conference

    Tripoli, Libya, March 2013 Read

  • Observations from the July 7th Elections, National Democratic Institute Political Party Conference

    Tripoli, Libya, March 2013 Read

  • Research Methodology and the Use of Research in Developing Party & Campaign Messaging

    National Democratic Institute Political Party Conference, Tripoli, Libya, March 2013 Read

  • Islamism, Secularism and Democracy after the Arab Spring

    Ford Foundation, Cairo, Egypt, November 2012 Read

  • New Entrants and Old Voters: What They Tell Us about Voting in Egypt’s Authoritarian and Transitional Elections

    American University of Cairo, Cairo, Egypt, November 2012 Read

  •  Women’s Political Participation

    Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, November 2012 Read

  • New Entrants and Old Voters: Focus on Women’s Participation

    Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, November 2012 Read

  •  Why Did Islamist Parties Win and What Does It Mean?

    Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2012 Read

Funders