Democracy in the Arab and Muslim World

The Office of External Affairs and Research Program present

Democracy in the Arab and Muslim World: Building Institutions to Combat Violent Extremism

Shabbir Cheema, Senior Fellow and Director, Asia Pacific Governance and Democracy Initiative, East-West Center

Over the past 50 years, democratization has been one of the most significant transformations in the world. Many Muslim and Arab countries have shifted from authoritarian regimes to democratic systems including Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan and Tunisia. While significant progress has been made in Muslim majority countries in Asia, “the Arab Spring” has not yielded positive results. This presentation will provide a perspective on the challenges and issues of democratization in the Muslim and Arab World and the impact of reforms to build democratic institutions to combat violent extremism. Dr. Cheema will discuss internal and external economic and political factors that are influencing the transition to democracy, the role of US democracy promotion programs, and lessons learned concerning the protection of national interests, the advocacy of global values and combating extremist movements.

Shabbir Cheema is a Senior Fellow and Director, Asia Pacific Governance and Democracy Initiative at the East-West Center. Before joining the Center, Dr. Cheema had a distinguished career at the United Nations including as Director of the Democratic Governance Division. He taught at the University of Science in Malaysia, New York University and the University of Hawaii. He was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation. He is author of Building Democratic Institutions (Kumarian, 2005) and co-author of The Evolution of Development Thinking: Governance Economics, Assistance and Security (Palgrave Macmillan, January 2016.)

This talk is free and open to the public but seating is limited. Please RSVP: EWCInfo@EastWestCenter.org or 808-944-7111.
Paid parking available on UHM campus.

Event Sponsor
East-West Center, Mānoa Campus

More Information
(808) 944-7111, EWCInfo@EastWestCenter.org

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