Author : Hanan Rezk
Source : Review of Economics and Political Science
Date of Publication : 04/2018
Abstract :
This paper aims at analyzing the importance of Egypt's affiliation to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and at assessing the impact of such affiliation on the country's good governance profile. For a transitional country like Egypt, drawing lessons from Jordan - a pioneer OGP signatory Arab country that shares a similar history of highly centralized political, financial and administrative systems - will help inform Egyptian policy makers on the benefits and expected spillover effects. Since the 2011 Revolution, Egypt's roadmap towards democracy has been accompanied with several positive steps to improve its good governance profile. This paper suggests that Egypt's affiliation to the (OGP) will be an additional needed step to strengthen its commitment to a comprehensive reform plan. OGP principles such as increasing citizens' participation, combating corruption, encouraging transparency and the free flow of information have been major priorities in the agendas of the consecutive Egyptian cabinets since the Arab Spring. OGP has a proven track record of helping reformed government to reach their goals by bringing them closer to their citizens; moreover, the initiative is currently gaining momentum as it provides an un-match-able opportunity to facilitate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its participatory approach. While it is still early to access the full impact of OGP, this exploratory paper will strongly help support decision-making based on international indicators and evidence-based successful practices.
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