Is a Governance Culture Innate or Acquired? Implications for the Middle East

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Harvard Business Review Arabic  –  April 9, 2017

by Dr. Assem Safieddine and Leila Atwi 

 

The Scandinavian countries have been admired for their governance culture and institutional frameworks for so long.  The roots of their superior performance on all corporate and public sector governance indicators date centuries back.

Does this lead us to conclude that the Middle Eastern countries have no hope of transitioning into well-governed environments? More than two centuries after the issuance of the Sweden information law, most of the Arab countries still lag behind on the most basic practices of openness and transparency.

When compared to the tradition of Scandinavian countries, the region can only be perceived with desperation. However, other international experiences do trigger some hope.

The journey to governance is certainly not short nor quick. A culture of governance is instituted overtime. Nevertheless, it is not a far-reaching aspiration. How can the Arab countries follow suit? The previous international and regional experiences unveil important cornerstones.

For more details, please check the full article in Arabic or English.

 

 

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