KOMMENTARE/ COMMENTS The Arab Human Development Report – Envisioning an Arab Renaissance NADER FERGANY E ditor’s Introduction: The Arab Human Development Report( ahdr ) has had a noteworthy career. Within the Arab world, it has stimulated debate and controversy. In Europe and the United States, since its pub­lication almost every discussion about development, democratization, and reform in Arab countries has made reference to the ahdr ’s findings. Furthermore, outside reform initiatives, such as those envisioned in the usa ’s Greater Middle East Initiative, have been linked to the report. The report is thus a prime example of the power of ideas and the difficult in­terrelationship between knowledge and politics, which is particularly rel­evant to the sensitive relations between the usa and the Arab world since September 11. The following contribution by the lead author of the ahdr explains the original idea behind the report, comments on the political re­actions, and envisions a reform path which translates analytical insights into societal reform from within. Contents and Objectives of the Arab Human Development Reports The first ahdr (2002) presented a comprehensive but preliminary treat­ment of the current situation of the Arab nation from a human develop­ment perspective. The Report ended its diagnosis by concluding that three fundamental deficits impede human development in Arab coun­tries:(i) in the acquisition of knowledge,(ii) in freedom and good gov­ernance, and(iii) in the empowerment of women. 1 Given that the first ahdr , by virtue of its comprehensive nature, was unable to investigate deeply the individual deficits, a need arose for more profound treatment. The Regional Bureau for Arab States of the United Nations Development Program therefore decided to produce at least three more annual issues of the ahdr : the ahdr has thus become a series of reports. 12 Fergany, Envisioning an Arab Renaissance ipg 4/2004