The coming of age
How should we go about reform, now that it is a foreign as well as a domestic demand? Mustafa El-Feki* says the Arabs need to ditch authoritarianism
Never before have the Arabs needed to engage in so much soul-searching. Historical events are taking place daily, uncovering new realities and heralding in unexpected developments. We need all the national awareness we can muster in order to emerge from the bind that we are in. I think it fitting to focus on the course of reform that we should initiate upon and imprint with our own identity, culture, and history. We should diagnose the ailment and its causes before contemplating treatment. To do so, we should carefully examine the nature of ruling Arab regimes, their composition and methods. It would do us no harm at all to try and look at ourselves the same way that others do.
Levels of political stagnation and institutional ineptitude have reached crisis proportions in many Arab capitals. The current situation can be summed up as follows:
Firstly, some Arab regimes are cocooned and insulated by their power, partisanship, even family links. Power sharing is minimal, the elite has ossified, and the people are incapable of injecting new blood and vitality into their political systems. As a result, the vitality of these systems has been sapped and their course of action has become unsure, if not outright nebulous.
Second, the overt and covert lists of US demands to some Arab countries are aimed not only at regimes but also the people. Religious propagation, cultural programmes, and prevailing concepts are not matters confined to the existing authorities -- they are part of the national identity and public mood. This is why the coming phase is crucial. Regimes may be able to adapt easily to the new realities and adjust their loyalties. People cannot, unless they maintain their sense of belonging. National traits can prove to be an insurmountable impediment, a barrier too high to negotiate.
Third, among the main reasons for the continued US campaign against the region are erroneous notions about religious education and social conditioning among Arabs and Muslims. The United States feels that the region needs an injection of new values and concepts. This, I am afraid, is pure nonsense.
Fourth, the sight of hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites celebrating the memory of Imam Ali in Karbala recently is an unmistaken sign that the cultural legacy and collective memory of the people of our region are deep-rooted. Outsiders may have their own ambitions and concerns. Some may hold forth about change, but change cannot be introduced without a clear understanding of the region and without an enlightened view of what this part of the world is about.
Fifth, the Middle East was an ethnic mosaic -- just as the Balkans were under the Ottoman Empire. Even though the Arab region may lack political plurality, it is rich in ethnic, sectarian, and historical plurality.
All the above should be a source of inspiration during these difficult times. One must keep in mind the fact that any change in this region will have to deal with political and cultural institutions, as well as economic and social policies. Change will also have to affect the general public mood. A new media discourse is needed, and it has to take into account recent developments -- particularly those of the past two years. This is not a call for submission to US demands; but a reasoned response to the spirit of the age. Reform is overdue. The following remarks may throw light on the point I am making:
The insularity of authority in the Arab world may have attracted to power some revolutionary figures, but it has also alienated many people of culture. A rift has emerged between those who maintain close ties with the regimes and the silent majority that maintain a position of indifference. Under these circumstances, criticism is wasted in purposeless chatter, instead of channelling political action and guiding public policy.
Some may claim that it is natural that authorities maintain a degree of insularity, for the political "kitchen" can ultimately accommodate only a limited number of people. This is basically true. But we still have a problem, for the people inhabiting our innermost decision making circles tend to remain in their positions of power for 20, sometimes even 30 years. This is an important phenomenon, for no official can be expected to remain insightful for that long. Enthusiasm for the job has a shelf life, so to speak, after which it goes stale and expires. Officials who stay in their positions too long produce only repetitive and uninspiring work. This is unfair for future generations, for it deprives them of their say. The process of national decision-making should not bypass younger sections of the population.
The vitality of any regime is drawn from the injection of fresh blood, from the attraction of outside talent, and from vigilant efforts to eradicate financial, administrative, and political corruption. Insular regimes have trouble dismissing their inept members or recruiting outside talent. They stagnate, like water cut off from the river.
The intensity of humiliation generated over the past few months and heightened awareness of the costliness of closed systems of government should motivate us to initiate a process of overall reform. This must be one aimed not just at individuals, but at policy, ways of thinking, and methods of administration. The reasons for the impotence of Arab countries over the past few years and for their inability to manage the Arab- Israeli conflict are all related to a lack of reform programmes and the absence of a democratic process that allows for all political parties to operate on the political stage.
In such exceptional times, we need exceptional decisions to get us back on track. We must not wait for instructions from the United States, nor do we need prescriptions from abroad. We know what needs to be done. We are more aware than others of our political problems, national concerns, and intellectual ailments. It is time the Arabs introduced serious reforms, fashioned their future with insight, and avoided short-sighted political decisions. National interests have to be weighed against foreign pressures. This is the time of our awakening, our coming of age.
* The writer is chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the People's Assembly.
