The Arab Human Development Report 2004: Building a Knowledge Society

The new edition of the Report describes free societies, in their normative dimension, as fundamental contrasts with present-day Arab countries. Caught between oppression at home and violation from abroad, Arabs are increasingly excluded from determining their own future. Their challenge will be to create a viable mode of transition from a situation where liberty is curtailed and oppression the rule, to one of freedom and good governance that minimizes social upheaval and human costs.

In Connection with the UNDP-RBAS
Since 1990, the United Nations Development Program has been providing annual “Human Development Reports” that set out the basic social and economic indicators for the nations of the world. The Arab Human Development Report, which is focused exclusively on the twenty-two Arab states, provides a comprehensive and comparative examination of the region. Filled with charts, tables, and sidebars, the book provides analysis of the current situation, compares Arab performance with other world areas, and provides an agenda for action. Past AHDRs have focused on the deficits of freedom, knowledge, and women’s empowerment that exist in the region; the 2004 edition will focus on freedom and good governance. The reports have received considerable attention from the press, policy makers, and politicians, including Thomas L. Friedman in his column for the New York Times: “There is another tremor shaking the Arab world. This one is being set off by a group of courageous Arab social scientists, who decided, with the help of the United Nations, to begin fighting the war of ideas for the Arab future by detailing just how far the Arab world has fallen behind and by laying out a progressive pathway forward.”