Post-Arab Spring Institutional Encumbrance and Economic Development: A Preliminary Analysis

Since the beginning of “Arab spring”[1], scholars have been attempting to distinguish the underlying determinants of such historical events in the modern development of the Arab world. This research however aims to examine the role of institutions in the resource rich region of the world, and the impact of encumbrance of such institution on the evolution of events that led to the social unrest and the aftermath of the so called Arab Spring. The purpose of this research to examine the impact of the phenomenon in respect of macroeconomic management of the economy especially in poverty reduction, reducing the rate of unemployment, the growth of per capita income, reduction of income inequality, capital formation and growth. The findings of this research showed there are inconclusive evidences that the Arab Springs have not bring about the required results by the people. Although the time period before and after the Arab Spring is quite short but it is an indication with regard to the success and failure of the role of the public institutions. [1] Arab Spring was a term popularized by western media in early 2011 that refers to anti-government protests and uprising that spread across the middle east in early 2011 with different ways of how the uprising came into being. The uprising started in Tunisia against Zine El Abidin Ben Ali in late 2010. By the end of 2011, the government in Egypt and Libya was swept away by popular revolts whilst Iraq was the result of US invasion in 2003 and Syria is still raging in civil war. Introduction The first call that was made aloud by experts while the Arab-Spring was taking place was the call for the establishment of credible and efficient institutions. The need for effective institutions is an urgent challenges and crises that most countries in the Middle East or as commonly known the “Arab World” are facing. The existence of representative, efficient and effective institutions will help replenish the legitimacy, and involvement of the international business community, which leads to socio-economic development (Gerges, F. A., 2013; Storper, 2013). The reform process is an ongoing and interactive one and aspires to tackle corruption and reduce imbalances in the economies across the Middle East region. However, current realities are showing otherwise and far from expectation from the people. The lack of tangible successes and achievements is evident with the ever-growing unsatisfactory post-revolutions populations in the Arab world. Failures in both social development and economic reforms are attributed partly due to failure of post-revolutionary institutions and lack of political will. In other words, the very existence of current institutions and the lack of modern human resources with new capabilities and thinking is a fundamental reason for the perpetual failures that are being experienced. The most progressive policies and programs are doomed to failure if they are put merely for show rather than genuine intent of social and economic development. This is the case of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Tunisia- the 5 Arab countries that have undergone changes with different level of success. While the economic gains in the context of reforms in the pre-uprising in the Middle East was limited to government officials and cronies, a limited class of society reaped most of the advantages and benefits of pre-uprising reforms. Unfortunately the vast majority of the population still remained in the low-income brackets and still harbouring the ill feelings due to the inability and failure of public institutions to make the vast majority of the population to benefit from gains and growth in output (Finger, H., and Gressani, D., 2014). Hence lies the feeling of being disfranchised amongst the majority of citizens in countries that experienced the Arab Spring.International Journal of Innovation and Business Strategy - Issue 3 UTM, Malaysi