capitalism. The appeal of democracy was tarnished by the failed uprisings of 2011 and the chaos that ensued initially in Syria, Yemen, and Libya, which is now threatening Iraq, Algeria, and Lebanon, and which might recur or commence virtually anywhere where in the region. This discontinuous history of Arab political thought reflects and contributes to the widespread perceived sense of failure and inadequacy, coupled with hope for a sudden, dramatic liberation from problems afflicting the region. These are feelings of despair rather than of personal or collective dignity.
Why is it important to overcome the dignity deficit?
The relative fragility and weakness of feelings of dignity in the Arab world are problematic from both personal and systemic perspectives. As for the former, inadequate feelings of accomplishment and recognition are emotionally enervating, rendering lives less than fulfilling and the task of overcoming systemic obstacles yet more difficult. As for relations with systems–whether political or economic, national, regional or global–an absence of dignity among today’s half a billion Arabs reflects the impacts on them of their inadequate political economies and in turn points to reciprocal pressures on these systems from peoples who feel their lives are not as rewarding and dignified as they deserve.
As Telhami’s data indicate, the uprisings of a decade ago and presumably those today are driven by a dignity deficit. Presumably so long as that deficit persists, the threat of civil disobedience will continue to haunt Arab governments. Incapable because of their authoritarian natures of providing the requisites for that dignity, their only alternatives are to abdicate, to repress, or to convince their populations that one scapegoat or another is responsible for the lamentable state of affairs. This last tactic risks military adventurism, as the proliferation of proxy wars in the region indicates. Successive failures of hoped for democratic transitions in Egypt, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Algeria, render subsequent attempts there or novel ones elsewhere ever more difficult as political battle lines are drawn more tightly, rendering compromise more difficult and violence more likely. Were regimes to fall and be replaced by hoped for democracies, as they have in Tunisia and Sudan, the task of consolidating a new, pluralistic system is complicated by the cacophony of demands driven by pent up desires for immediate economic, political, and social reforms. Unless and until systems somehow emerge that can reduce the dignity deficit resulting from the wide gap between states and societies, it is probable that instability, repression, and inter and intra-state violence will persist.
How to help overcome the dignity deficit
This deficit being the product of causes both within and outside the Arab world, is not easily nor quickly overcome. As for internal cures, they turn on rendering government more accountable and representative, outcomes more likely to be achieved through reform of the status quo rather than by revolution, as contemporary Iran suggests. Outsiders can and should facilitate reform. They can do so through interventions directed at both specific operational as well as general governmental causes of inadequate dignity.
The immediate, operational issues which external supporters can most easily and effectively address are those targeted primarily on youths. Given the youth bulge in the Arab world, which is second globally only to sub-Saharan Africa, those under 25 constitute a politically, socially and economically vital demographic. Access to them is most easily obtained through educational systems, expansion of which has resulted in a vast increase in primary, secondary and university enrolments throughout the Arab world. Yet, as just noted, while educational quantity has gone up, quality has deteriorated. Among the consequences of poor educations is inadequate preparation for relevant vocations, thus placing graduates on trajectories in which self-fulfillment, which typically rests heavily on career success, will be difficult to achieve. But improving educational quality is difficult as the
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