Steps towards reform

摘要

Building a knowledge-based society in today's Arab world depends on overcoming primarily political obstacles to progress. Nader Fergany analyses the reforms required for an Arab renaissance. Building a knowledge-based society in the Arab countries would mean reclaiming one of the epic achievements of Arab history. At the zenith of Arab-Muslim civilization, from the eighth to the thirteenth century, the Arab world succeeded in building a knowledge culture in which Arabic was the language of science, and knowledge production flourished. But building a knowledge society in todays Arab world is a significant challenge. Arab countries spend vastly less on science than most other nations. Investment in education is also lagging, with students spending far fewer years at school than their counterparts in the east Asian tigers, for example. The Arab region also has far fewer researchers and engineers, and produces fewer scientific publications, than any other world region, apart from sub-Saharan Africa.