The Tragic Failure of the Arab World, and Why It's Bad for Israel

[Mosby]

The 21st century is becoming increasingly characterized by the tragedies befalling the Arab world. Tribal, ethnic, regional, religious and other forces are fighting each other for power, while Arab states seem to be coming apart at the seams or even completely crumbling. The historic rift between Sunni and Shi’ite Islam remains as divisive as ever, and jihadists are gaining footholds throughout Arab lands. They give rise to questions about their implications for Arab states in the modern age.

Ever since the Western world first burst into the Arab-Islamist sphere, more than 200 years ago, Arabs have been tormented by the question of why they – the bearers of such a magnificent cultural heritage – now find themselves at such a disadvantage. They have struggled to understand how they could possibly compete with more developed nations.

To hope to achieve this goal, they needed to address four challenges: First, to create sovereign states with functioning national institutions that depend upon cooperative citizens. Second, to develop the capacity to produce technology, which would secure them a competitive position in the world economy. Third, to handle Islam in a way that would instill values to bring society together – like common identity and solidarity – but also neutralize the violent elements that look to restore the ways of the past. Fourth, to shake off the neocolonialist influence and involvement of superpowers, and act independently in the international arena.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-1.694938

[6chars]

1. Haaretz

[Mosby]

2. yup.

You know whats funny is that I didn't even notice at first because I arrived at the page via yahoo, in general I don't waste my time going to that site because of the restrictions. I know there are roundabout ways to read most of the articles but still is a waste of time imo.

[leftynyc]

4. Interesting piece

And some real truth telling:

(snip) There is no escaping the conclusion that, at this stage, most Arab states can only function with some level of stability under authoritarian regimes or traditional monarchies. The challenge of creating nations similar to those in the modern West has yet to be fulfilled.

(snip) Even when Arab states open up to the world and import technologies, the benefits are limited. Global technologies become obsolete very quickly, so those not participating in their production can’t develop effective alternatives. Creativity and ingenuity are so critical these days, but these qualities are lacking in the Arab world. And despite their extremely modern image, even the Gulf states import technology from around the world and the locals have no stake in production.

(snip) According to the same 2003 UN report, all of the Arab states combined registered only 370 patents in the United States between 1980 and 2000, while Israel alone registered more than 7,000 and South Korea registered over 16,000. The number of researchers per million people in the Arab world sits at 300, while the global average is 900. The result of all of this is that unemployment rates among young people in the Arab world are among the highest on the planet – between 30 to 50 percent.


When the only choices seem to be brutal dictator or brutal religious freaks, I don't even know which one to support. I blame the religious leaders of these countries for pouring poison into their citizens minds about the glory of the Ottoman Empire and how it will rise again once they kill all the infidels. This is what they get in school rather than a proper education.

[leftynyc]

6. Absolutely

If they would just stop with the eliminating Israel nonsense and get over their getting their asses kicked, I have no doubt working together would bring benefits they will never see continuing on the way they are.

[Little Tich]

7. I think there are too many generalizations in the OP.

Any argumentation based on generalizations, including the OP, can never be particularly strong. Personally, I can't see why Arabs should have more difficulties building democratic societies than anybody else.

I think the OP reflects more of a certain narrative than an actual argument.

[leftynyc]

8. Without questioning the why

the Arabs have more difficulty building democratic societies, will you at least admit the evidence seems to point to just that?

[azurnoir]

9. then explain to us why YOU think Arabs have a hard time building democratic societies

[leftynyc]

10. Right after you admit

the evidence points to that reality.

[azurnoir]

11. evidence? you mean a partial retelling of history?

guess those Arabs should just boot strap themselves, Western intervention be damned

[leftynyc]

12. Still blaming the west

for their failures. How pathetic. The Arab Spring (started in Tunisia and then Egypt), that the west largely stayed out of brought what? A democracy? Or religious freaks? Talk about partial retelling of histories. You're an expert at that. I see you still wont admit what's right in front of your face. We're done here.

[azurnoir]

13. so you deny that Western intervention has played a role in this ?

that speaks for itself

[aranthus]

14. Do you believe that Western intervention is the only or primary reason? n/t

[Little Tich]

15. I see no evidence that the Arab world has in itself more trouble building democratic societies than

anyone else.

They were simply dealt a bad hand thanks to colonialism and constant meddling by great powers playing the Great Game. No further explanation is actually needed, especially one that isn't based on evidence.

While I'm no expert on the effects of colonialism and the meddling of great powers in the Arab world, there seems to be a lot of scholarly material that seems to support the idea that they've affected the Arab world to a great extent. There's also some not so scholarly material that blame the Arabs themselves, but I'll rather go with the informed majority here.

My own conclusion is that while it's a little bit difficult to pinpoint the exact causes for the lack of democracy in the Arab world, the argument put forward by Shimon Shamir in the OP is just his political opinion and not something based on facts and scholarly research.

It's so good to have Google nowadays, it really helps me understand where the real, informed consensus is on an issue like this.