The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies have published the seventh issue (Autumn 2023), of Hikama, the biannual peer-reviewed public administration and public policy journal. This special issue on "Local Administration and Decentralization in Arab States” includes the following three articles:  "Local Administration in Egypt: Reality and Vision for the Future,” by Samir Mohamed Abdelwahab; “Local Administration in conflict: the case of Yemen,” by Ahmed Almaweri; and "Saudi Local Administration: Current Status and Future Perceptions on Decentralization Application," Adnan Bin Abdalla Suleiman Alshiha .In addition to the Local Administration and Decentralization papers, there are three other articles in the issue:" Artificial Intelligence between Government and  Self-Regulation Policies: A Theoretical Approach;" by Ahmed Badran; “Migration Policies and Regional Integration: The Case of Migration between Egypt and Sudan”, by Rawia Tawfik; and "The Politicization of Civil Service in the Palestinian Bureaucracy: Augmenting Loyalty and Excluding Opposition;"  by Rashad Twam, Ihab Maharmeh, and Bahaa Ghassan. It also contains one policy paper, namely “Judicial Independence in Post-2013 Egypt: Current Status and Reform Proposals;” by Shams Al Din Al Hajjaji. The issue presents a translation of "Decentralization and Governance" by Jean-Paul Faguet (translated by Aoumria Soltani). Finally, the issue contains two reviews: “Inequality Kills" because of "Survival of the Richest”!", by Saja Torman, and " The 2023 Global Slavery Index" by Editorial Board.