Navigating beyond COVID-19: Recovery in the MENA Region reflects on the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on MENA countries and the potential changes it may bring to their reform agendas. It addresses not only the ongoing effects of the crisis, but also examines long-term consequences and identifies emerging new trends.

Cross-cutting global and regional challenges have triggered or reinforced efforts by government in the Middle East and North Africa to undertake public governance reforms. These reforms aim to build sustainable and resilient administrations that better meet development objectives and citizens’ expectations. To support these efforts, the report looks at developments in key areas of public governance in the Middle East and North Africa over the past decade. It discusses governments’ strategic commitments, governance arrangements, capacities and practices to implement public governance reforms to achieve four main objectives: (1) growing sustainably; (2) spending public resources efficiently; (3) delivering services effectively; and (4) promoting open and inclusive societies. The report provides general strategic orientations and identifies areas of opportunity that can be adapted to different contexts, needs and priorities.

Young people have demonstrated resilience to shocks and led positive change in their communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across MENA, compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries.

This new series presents and discusses new and innovative approaches used by professionals in library and information practice worldwide. The authors are chosen to provide critical analysis of issues and to present solutions to selected challenges in libraries and related fields, including information management and industry, and education of information professionals. The book series strives to present practical solutions that can be applied in institutions worldwide. It thereby contributes significantly to improvements in the field.

The 2021 edition of International Migration Outlook analyses recent developments in migration movements and the labour market inclusion of immigrants in OECD countries. It also monitors recent policy changes in migration governance and integration in OECD countries.

The Middle East and North Africa economies face an uncertain recovery. The war in Ukraine presents significant challenges to the global economy and the MENA region. Inflationary pressures brought about by the pandemic are likely to be further exacerbated by the conflict. The potential for rising food prices is even higher, which is likely to hurt the wallets of the poor and vulnerable in the region. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast a shadow. As the latest variant sweeps over the region, countries grapple with a host of problems depending on initial conditions and policy priorities. The region, like the rest of the world, is not out of the woods yet. Vaccinations remain the effective path out of the pandemic, leading to lower hospitalizations and death rates. Testing helps curb the spread. During times of uncertainty, it is important to not be overconfident about the region’s growth prospects. Growth forecasts serve as a significant signpost for policymakers to chart a path forward. Over the last decade, growth forecasts in the MENA region have often been inaccurate and overly optimistic, which can lead to economic contractions down the road due to ebullient borrowing. There is considerable room for the region to improve its forecasts that are largely hindered by opaque data systems, growth volatility and conflict. The MENA region lags considerably in the timely production of credible statistics. A key finding of the report is that the best way to improve forecasters is to provide forecasters with as much good quality information as possible.

COVID-19 and Bangladesh analyzes the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and features the socioeconomic fallouts for disadvantaged communities in Bangladesh, their coping mechanisms, and implications for the country’s development ambitions. The contributors to the book examine the immediate impact of economic adversities, which rapidly translated into health, employment, education, and other socioeconomic problems. They show that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted the communities that were traditionally left behind and created a new group of people that are “pushed behind”. Structured in four sections, the book examines impact and adjustment in the areas of employment, income, and expenditure and health, education, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and offers policy perspectives. The empirical analysis and policy conclusions presented in the chapters are based on official secondary data, household-level primary surveys, focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and reviews of public policy documents. The policy conclusions and outlook presented in the book can be instructive for other low-middle income, or graduating least developed countries (LDC). A unique contribution to the current debate on the diverse implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, this book will be of interest to policymakers and academics studying health and society in Asia and other countries of the Global South.

From civilisational frontier risks associated with new challenges like disruptive technologies, to the shifting nature of great-power conflicts and subversion, the 21st century requires a new approach to statecraft. In 21st-Century Statecraft, Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan proposes five innovative statecraft concepts. He makes the case for a new method of geopolitical analysis called 'meta-geopolitics', and for 'dignity-based governance'. He shows how, in an interdependent and interconnected world, traditional thinking must move beyond zero-sum games and focus on 'multi-sum and symbiotic realist' interstate relations. This requires a new paradigm of global security premised on five dimensions of security, and a new concept of power, 'just power', which highlights the centrality of justice to state interests. These concepts enable states to balance competing interests and work towards what the author calls 'reconciliation statecraft'. Throughout, Professor Al-Rodhan brings his philosophical and neuroscientific expertise to bear, providing a practical model for conducting statecraft in a sustainable way.