"The Question of the 'Civil State': An Arab Public Policy Roundtable Discussion in Light of the Arab Uprisings"

Abstract

On September 4, 2012, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) convened a roundtable discussion on the 'Civil State'. A highly topical subject due to recent Arab uprisings, IFI and the participants hoped that ideas tabled during the discussion would generate further research and working papers. It was also hoped that the discussion could provide the inspiration for a more comprehensive Arab conference. This could, in turn, provide an important regional platform for critical thinking and progressive argument with which reforms could be sought. All present at the roundtable shared the intention to drive this new era of Arab aspiration forward and to be sensitive to current political, social and cultural needs.