Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

and political participation. All of theseenvironmental components are affectedby and affect each other in the contextof whatever freedoms are dominantin the society. As a result, knowledgeperformance can improve in one countryand deteriorate in another, just as one ofthe basic categories of knowledge mayadvance while the other categories relapseas a result of the performance of thosefreedoms, which constitute, in the end,an important and authentic part of anyenabling environment for knowledge.Arab countries, as societies and asindividuals, suffer from tensions andcontradictions in their performance inenabling knowledge, because, perhaps, ofthe lack of a clear vision and an organisingstrategy to catch up with the age ofknowledge. These tensions may be theresult of security or political fears whichexert pressure in the direction of curbingfreedom and deregulating commerce.Here, the lack of awareness that knowledgeenvironments on the global front areheading in the direction of greaterdemocratization of knowledge becomesclear. In that process of democratization,the principle of sharing by all citizens inthe production of knowledge sparkles,offering an expression of thinking bygroups of individuals through horizontalcommunication media, not through anelite discourse coming from on high.Generally speaking, it can be said thatchange in the actual situation of freedomsin the region in recent years has beenconfined to an improvement in economicfreedoms. An analogous improvementin political and intellectual freedoms,democratic pursuits, and freedom ofexpression has not occurred; they haveremained as before in most Arab countries.There also has been no improvement insocial and cultural freedoms; in fact, theymay even have suffered a decline in someareas.The freedom of thought andexpression are still the weakest link in thecluster of freedoms and environmentsfor advancement of Arab knowledgeperformance. And the possibility ofseparating the various freedoms anddefining the role of each in the advancementof knowledge performance remain amongthe most problematic of considerationsthat must be addressed. Clearly, exercisingjust a few types of freedom, and to amost minimal degree, will not be enoughto establish a knowledge society in theArab world, which lacks both political andsocial freedoms.FROM NURTURINGENVIRONMENTS TOSUPPORTING INSTITUTIONSIn the previous section of this chapter wehave laid out what we believe to be thecornerstone of the enabling environmentsthat should assist in the formation of aknowledge society in the Arab world, andwe have classified these environmentswithin a general orientation that we believeto be central to the formulation of sucha society. All of this relates to what wehave called an expansion of the domainof freedoms, whether at the political,economic, social, cultural, or media level.The catchword ‘freedom’ is not apanacea for all the obstacles that fall inthe way of the formation of a knowledgesociety and an advancement of Arabknowledge performance. Definitely, otherfactors besides a shortfall in freedomshinder our ability to reach the thresholdsof a knowledge society. One might citethe hegemony of custom, petrifactionof ideas, closed-mindedness, rejectionof innovation, introversion, and a lack ofinteraction with the latest developments ofour age.Freedom, with the possibilities itoffers of a leap forward towards allthat contributes to strengthening andtransforming the human experience,must be considered a central pillar ofempowerment. It is also, as we havesaid, a pursuit that correlates with theneeds of Arab society. Nevertheless, thisempowerment, which is based on theresponsible exercise of freedoms, requiresArab countries sufferfrom tensions andcontradictions intheir performancein enablingknowledge becauseof the lack of aclear vision and anorganising strategyEmpowerment,which is based onthe responsibleexercise offreedoms, requiresthe creationof supportiveand protectiveinstitutionalframeworks thatensure sustainability,development,evaluation, andoversightARAB KNOWLEDGE PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTS83