Mena: a region of backhanders
A new book identifies corruption as a major factor holding back Middle East and North Africa (Mena) development —not least in oil-exporting states
Slogans analogous to those heard on the streets of Cairo and other Arab cities during the popular uprisings that began in 2011 are ringing out today in Baghdad, Beirut, Algiers, Tehran and many other Mena population centres. There may be country-specific differences in protesters’ demands, but there are undeniably strong common themes. One is the call for a rooting out of corruption. The scale of the region’s problem is clear. Anti-corruption advocate Transparency International lists six Mena states (Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Southern Sudan and Syria) among the 12 least transparent in the world. Eight more occupy places firmly in the bottom half of the 183-nation table: Morocco, Tunisia, K

Also in this section
6 February 2025
Policy initiatives will take time to reverse declining output, and restoring investor confidence is far from certain
6 February 2025
This premier event is poised to address the evolving technology and investment demands of North America’s thriving chemical and pharmaceutical sectors
5 February 2025
Growing appetite for LNG reinvigorates discussions between China and Myanmar, but civil war may prevent talk becoming action
5 February 2025
With new capacity, buyers must navigate sanctioned Russian crude, a return to traditional OPEC barrels and diversity of supply