The Arab Human Development Report 2004: Towards Freedom in the Arab World

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 minimises social upheaval and human costs.