ACTIVITY REPORT. Arab Center For Scientific Research And Humane Studies. Summary. State and Liberty in the Arab World. Marrakech, Morocco

Transcription

1 Arab Center For Scientific Research And Humane Studies ACTIVITY REPORT Activity type Mini Colloquium Activity Subject State and Liberty in the Arab World Activity director Rachid Aourraz Activity Supervisor Nouh El Harmouzi Place Marrakech, Morocco Date December 1st 2nd, 2015 Summary For two days, 18 young researchers from the Arab world have met to discuss aspects of human liberty based on a rich preselected academic readings and articles that they have received beforehand. This scholarly conference, was in the form of a focus group and was only attended by invitation. The roundtable discussion sessions was facilitated by moderators in a climate of open debate and exchange of ideas. This intellectually challenging exercise was designed to make the participants engage in deep reflection and analysis of ideas beyond dogmas. Free market, civil liberties, property rights and Public Choice were the main themes addressed in the colloquium, within the context of the Arab world. The colloquium was a great opportunity to study and discuss some of the most important texts and articles about liberty and it s values and I could confirm that this first edition has succeeded in making the majority of participants convinced and more aware of the liberal ideas importance and the need of promoting them in the Arab world. The participants have expressed their interest in any upcoming colloquiums and discussions about liberty. At the end I ve concluded two things, first is the urging necessity for doing more efforts in promoting liberty ideas and values in the Arab world and second is that more work needs to be done in introducing the fundamentals of classical liberalism to Arab readers.

2 Session I: Liberalism inception and development This first session was about the foundations of liberal thoughts and philosophy, three chosen texts of Ralph Raico, Ludwig Von Mises and Mario Vargas Llosa were the subject of study and discussion. Session II: the power of the state- the case of the Arab world In the second session participants were given a text chosen from the Ethics of redistribution by Bertrand De Jouvenel, which served as a guide to assess the size of governments in the Arab world and to discuss the effects caused by redistribution politics. At the end all participants agreed on the fact that governments in the Arab world are too big in a way that they are causing much harm to individual liberties. Session III: Theory of Public Choice - Money and politics in the Arab world In the third session participants were handed the well known article The Public Choice Revolution by Pierre Lemieux and a quoted text from Public choice book by EAMONN BUTLER, and they used these materials to analyze the relationship between money and politics and to understand the role of money in policy making in Arab countries. Session IV: Economic freedom and Development The fourth session was dedicated to discussions about the role of economic freedom in development, participants had a chapter from Milton Friedman s Economic Freedom and Political Freedom for reading in addition to a text by Wolfgang Kasper The importance of economic freedom in a globalised world. Session V: Crony Capitalism In the fifth session participants read texts from The morality of Capitalism by Dr TOM PALMER and What is Capitalism by AYN RAND and made through discussions the distinction between capitalism and crony capitalism. Session VI: property rights In the last session participants were able to understand the role of property rights in creating a suitable environment for economic growth and development after they read chosen texts from Property rights by Nigel Ashford and The Role of Property Rights as an institution: Implication for development policy by Bourdeaux Karol.

3 Readings What is classical liberalism by Ralph Raico Liberalism in the Classical tradition by Ludwig von Mises Liberalism in the new millennium by Mario Vargas Llosa The Ethics of Redistribution by Bertrand de Jouvenel Toward new social contract by the World Bank Group The Public Choice Revolution by Pierre Lemieux Public choice by Eamonn Butler Economic Freedom and Political Freedom by Milton Freidman The importance of economic freedom in a globalised world by Wolfgang Kasper What is Capitalism by Ayn Rand The morality of Capitalism by Dr Tom Palmer Property rights by Nigel Ashford The Role of Property Rights as an institution: Implication for development policy by Boudreaux Karol. The readings total about 207 pages. The Program Tuesday December 1st 9:00 10:30: First session: Liberalism Inception and Development moderated By Rachid Aourraz -What is classical liberalism by Ralph Raico -Liberalism in the Classical tradition by Ludwig von Mises -Liberalism in the new millennium by Mario Vargas Llosa :00: Coffee break 11:00-12:30: Second session: the power of the state - the case of the Arab world moderated by Dr. Ali Massoud - The Ethics of Redistribution by Bertrand de Jouvenel - Toward new social contract by the World Bank Group 12:30-16:30: Lunch break 16:30-18:30: Third session: Theory of Public Choice- Money and politics in the Arab world moderated by Dr. Ali Massoud -The Public Choice Revolution by Pierre Lemieux -Public Choice by Eamonn Butler

4 Wednesday December 2nd 9: : Fourth session: Economic freedom and Development moderated by Dr. Mazen Derawan -Economic Freedom and Political Freedom by Milton Freidman -The importance of economic freedom in a globalised world by Wolfgang Kasper 11:00-12:30: Fifth session: Crony Capitalism moderated by Dr. Mazen Derawan -What is Capitalism by Ayn Rand -The morality of Capitalism by Dr Tom Palmer : Lunch Break 16:30 18:00: Sixth session: property rights moderated by Rachid Aourraz -Property rights by Nigel Ashford -The Role of Property Rights as an institution: Implication for development policy by Boudreaux Karol. Participants Name Occupation/Organization Country Abdellah Idelkousse Researcher Sultan Moulay Ismael Univeristy Morocco Abdelmoughit Jazouli Researcher Ibn Tofail Univeristy Morocco Ahmed Abdelwahab Economic Researcher Egyptian Center for public Policy Studies (ECPPS) Egypt Ali Massoud Professor of Economics Sohag University Egypt Asmaa Bassuri Researcher Cadi Ayyad University Morocco Hend Farag Ahmed Rashwan Energy specialist/ Ahram centre Egypt Hiba Alimi Afeq Tunis Party Tunis Marwa Ammar Researcher University Of Kuwait Kuwait Mazen Derawan Researcher and Entrepreneur Syria Mohamed Aissa Baasiss Alamal Foundation Morocco Mohamed Amine Kassaoui Tunisian Association for Governance Tunisia Mona Jameleddine Health care reform specialist at INasanté Tunisia Mustapha Radji Associate Professor of sociology University of Mostaganem Algeria Algeria Rachid Aourraz Researcher at the Arab center for scientific research and humane studies Morocco Radwa Samy Economic research/ Accountability University Of Cairo Egypt Shadwa Ramadan Researcher University Of Kuwait Kuwait Suzan Afifi Economic policy analyst at the Jordanian Planning office Jordan Youcef Maouchi Teaching and Research Fellow GREQAM - Faculté d Economie et de Gestion - Aix- Marseille University France

5 Mini Colloquium Group on Facebook fb.com/groups/ A group on Facebook was created so that participants could discuss and exchange ideas on the previous topics, and also to share news on liberty in their home countries and their own writings on liberty and democracy. The group has already proven to be an important space for discussion and exchange. The service at Les Jardins de l Agdal hotel Ø Reception and Accommodations The registration of participants took place in the best conditions, the hotel put a high qualified team at the service of the participants who arrived on November 30th. Ø Dinners and Relations with the Staff The decor at the hotel is exquisite. The atmosphere is very relaxing and pleasant. The entrance with its oriental architecture and a catchy touch of dark offers a soothing scenery. The restaurant has a lucid lightening and a smooth disposition which added to the multitude of choices of food ensure a luxurious dinner. The staff members are friendly and their service is above any complaint. The rooms are very big, very clean and very comfortable. Ø The conduct of the conference The conference took place, over two days, in a very spacious room that meets the highest standards. The participants were assiduous and no delay has been registered at the start of the sessions or at the resumption after the coffee breaks. Ø Arrivals Upon arrival each participant found a taxi awaiting at the airport to take him/her directly to the hotel where the conference is held. This procedure, monitored by our team, profited the participants arriving by Marrakech Airport and also those landed in Casablanca. All the participants arrived according to the predefined timetable and no significant delay was registered. Ø Stay at the hotel The hotel restaurant ensured the meals and the coffee-breaks according to the conference schedule. No delays or complaints have been reported in this regard. The participants enjoyed a variety of meals of the Moroccan cuisine and were very satisfied with the remarkable service provided by the personnel.

6 Comments from participants about the event Ø Abdelmoughit Jazouli First of all, I d like to thank you for the huge efforts you have done to organize the colloquium which was really a great opportunity to learn and exchange ideas on some of the most important issues that need to be addressed in the Arab world, such as liberty, democracy and rule of law. It was a successful event, however the discussion lacked the diversity of points of views it may be necessary in the future to choose participants with different specializations and why not opposed ideologies. At the end and during the discussions, I could tell that a lot of participants have learned a lot on the classical liberalism tradition, free markets private property and rule of law...etc. And I would really love to see and participate in a lot more coming colloquiums. Ø Asmaa Bassuri Overall colloquium exceeded my expectations in terms of organization and networking opportunities. The professionalism of the organization team was very impressive. Accommodation services were very convenient. On the other hand, the selection of essays we were offered was very enriching and has taught us interesting concepts about Liberal economy that we had to debate with peers from all over the world. Ø Mazen Derawan The first mini colloquium that we attended in Marrakech titled "The State and Freedom in the Arab World" had the following benefits: 1- It encouraged attendees to read a wealth of literature. 2- Not only it encouraged attendees to read, but it also encouraged them to read about subjects and their authors that they normally would not think about and would not normally find in typical Arab libraries. 3- It taught attendees a new way of running discussions. A way that teaches time management of the discussion while allowing and even encouraging everyone to be interactive and to be heard. 4- I personally enjoyed the readings, discussion, and the managing of the 2 sessions that I did, subject wise and discussion wise. I strongly recommend that such activities to continue.

7 Ø Mustapha Radji It was a great experience for me, for the first time I meet people just to discuss in depth texts and papers on Ideas of Liberty. There was a diversity and no limits just two rules to participate in the debate. We was reacting toward ideas and evaluating them from our Arab contexts. It was a very interesting experience to be replicated and to be continued. Ø Shadwa Ramadan The program content met my needs. Increased my knowledge of policy issues. Also content was presented in an organized and clear way. Teaching style by opening discussion was effective and it was appropriate to all levels. By attending this course, I believed that I have to improve many of my advanced skills in discussion and argument. And I learnt how I can express my ideas clearly and present useful examples in politics and economics. This report is drafted by: Rachid Aourraz Translated by: Abdelmoughit Al Jazouli Revised by: Jamal Aourraz