The heart of the Arab world is in need of a transplant

Saturday, April 18, 2015

What better way to begin a series of articles on Egypt than to start by examining the country's composition to explore why it's teetering on the brink of being a failed state.

The descent of Egypt and the region as a whole into what is increasingly looking like the Middle East version of the equally brutal Thirty Years War which gripped Europe between 1618 and 1648 and ended with a totally new system of governance, is seen by some as confirmation of a well-worn Orientalist trope that the region's cultural – Arab and Islamic — and historical composition does not allow for successful democracy. A few Arab leaders have imbibed such Orientalist prejudice, including Egypt's former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who echoed the mantra by declaring confidently that, "Egypt is not ready for democracy."

Stereotypes like this become fashionable during times of crises because they provide easy explanations for complex problems and, more crucially, because they conceal the real structural problems confronting Egypt and the region as a whole. Islam and Arab culture are indeed important factors in understanding the composition of the region. However, their combined imprint on the Middle East's contemporary problems is of far less significance than other less attended to structural weaknesses that have plagued regional regimes following their evolution into "sovereign" and "independent" states.

Hopefully without risking accusations of overstating the case, it is fair to say that modern Egypt was born with crippling deficiencies that gravely impaired its ability to hurdle over the challenges of modern society. It is becoming increasingly clear that countries like Egypt have inherent fundamental flaws that have made them volatile, ungovernable and unsustainable political units; their very composition determined that their long term viability could only be ensured by remaining one of the most "unfree" regions in the world.

in full: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/18125-the-heart-of-the-arab-world-is-in-need-of-a-transplant