Industrialized, Rich, Democratic – the
Arab world is very different.
Culturally, it contains a variety
of languages, religions and socioeconomic development. Politically,
it has been roiled by the recent “Arab
Awakening,” but it’s too early to tell
if this will lead to any significant
transition. The events of 2011 spread
quickly and offered hope of reform
after decades of corruption and recent
inflation and unemployment. But
today, authoritarianism still dominates
the collection of weak nation states and
stateless nations. The whole region is
suffering, with no solution in sight.
To generalize, we are dealing
with two kinds of countries. In real
nations, such as Iran and Tunisia, the
population feels some sense of common history and identity. Most of the other
countries in the region are little more than “tribes with flags,” where one group
dominates and excludes others, and there is little sense of a common identity.
The current ISIS threat, based in Syria and extending into Iraq, is a brutal
expression of Sunni nationalism. More importantly, it is a reflection of weak
states in that part of the Middle East but is ultimately unsustainable.
Some look at the world today and see a clash of civilizations between
East and West, Islam and Christianity. Others see a clash within the Arab
civilization as the people debate the role of religion in politics. Still others see
a potential convergence of civilizations as the Arab world starts to look more
“modern,” with rising literacy rates, falling fertility rates, and the concomitant
rise of individualism.
Day Two focused on the way different cultures develop their systems of
morality. Greg recommended as a useful guidebook, The Righteous Mind: Why
Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt. Written to
help people understand the cultural and moral basis of American politics, it
can also help us understand the politics and culture of other parts of the world,
like the Middle East.
He cited three clusters of moral themes that societies around the world
sample from when constructing moral systems:
Autonomy – People are unique, autonomous and free. Societies that
emphasize this theme develop theories of individual rights and justice systems
to protect these rights.
The current ISIS threat,
based in Syria and
extending into Iraq,
is a brutal expression
of Sunni nationalism.
More importantly,
it is a reflection of
weak states in that
part of the Middle
East but is ultimately
unsustainable.
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