Decentralization in Unitary States

The Constitutional Transitions Clinic ‘back office’ has, from 2011 to 2014, prepared
a series of thematic, comparative research reports on issues in constitutional design
that have arisen in the Middle East and North Africa. Zaid Al-Ali, Senior Adviser on
Constitution Building at International IDEA, acted as an adviser on these reports and
oversaw International IDEA’s participation in the report-drafting process. The United
Nations Development Programme’s Regional Center provided both material and
substantive support in relation to the last three of the six reports.
The first three of these reports are jointly published by Constitutional Transitions and
International IDEA. The second three are jointly published by Constitutional Transitions,
International IDEA and the United Nations Development Programme. The reports are
intended to be used as an engagement tools in support of constitution-building activities
in the region. The full list of reports is:
• Constitutional Courts after the Arab Spring: Appointment Mechanisms and Relative
Judicial Independence (Spring 2014)
• Semi-Presidentialism as Power Sharing: Constitutional reform after the Arab Spring
(Spring 2014)
• Political Party Finance Regulation: Constitutional reform after the Arab Spring (Spring
2014)
• Anti-Corruption: Constitutional Frameworks for the Middle East and North Africa (Fall
2014)
• Decentralization in Unitary States: Constitutional Frameworks for the Middle East
and North Africa (Fall 2014)
• Oil and Natural Gas: Constitutional Frameworks for the Middle East and North
Africa (Fall 2014)