Date: Oct 22, 2007 THE ARAB NETWORK FOR THE STUDY OF DEMOCRACY Arab academics and civil society activists from 7 Arab countries formed in July 07 the Arab Network for the Study of Democracy. These 7 Arab countries are: Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. They were selected because they represent the 4 cultural and geographical subsystems that define the Arab region: the Gulf, the Mashreq or Levant, North Africa and Egypt. This network’s activities will focus on three tracks: --- Research about democracy and its applications in the Arab region --- Practice of democracy including the establishment of an Arab Public Issues Forums Project --- Measurement of democracy through the launching of an Arab Barometer initiative