Steering to the rocks

Self-aggrandising elites in the Arab world have broken the back of the nation-state to the peril of all, writes Azmi Ashour*

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In today's world, it isn't hard to gauge the level of progress of any given nation. We all use the same media, watch the same satellite television and stay in touch via the Internet. Banking, industrial products and patterns of consumption are very much standardised. And all cultures, even those that managed to keep their own flair, speak in the same global vocabulary. We're all worried about the same things: the environment, terror, nuclear threats, etc.

So it is easy to assess the course any given nation is taking. Some nations are obviously moving ahead, whereas others -- including most Arab countries -- are slipping behind. It's because our ruling elites have failed to live up to the ideals of the nation-state.

The state was supposed to advance progress and development in our societies. In our part of the world, however, the state has lost the moral underpinnings needed to keep any political entity together. The idea of a nation-state inspiring loyalty among its citizens is being challenged every day -- and not just by pan-Arab or pan-Islamic ideas. Clan affiliations, sectarian divisions, and ethnic loyalties are all nibbling away at the very fabric of our societies. The demands of the few have spoken louder than the needs of the nation.

The concept of the nation-state came only into being after a long process of historical trial and error. The nation-state proved that it is the best protector of stability and peace. For one thing, the nation-state is supposed to create harmony among various factions that form the nation. When the state fails to do that, ethnic disturbances are bound to happen sooner or later. The developing countries that managed to move ahead are the ones that treat their citizens equally, regardless of creed and race. In our part of the world, this is not always the case.

Why has the nation-state in the Arab world failed to do its job? Why is the concept of a common national identity being so repeatedly challenged? One reason is that the ruling elites don't seem to appreciate the importance of having a common national identity, and thus fail to defend the interests of the nation as a whole. Another reason is the resurgence of religion and its continual assault on politics. Look at how our religious groups are undermining the national identity of their countries, at how the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in acting, and you'll get the idea. Some Islamists have gone as far as to advocate the re-establishment of the caliphate. I rest my case.

Arab societies had the option of moving ahead. But many refused to undergo the mental process that is needed. Many refused to move on from being a traditional society to being a modern one. That's why religious fanaticism is on the rise whereas the values that can bring about progress are on the wane. And our elites, instead of being a force of progress, are using the mess to consolidate their positions.

Instead of propelling their countries to progress, the ruling elites have become an obstacle to advancement. And one day, they may become a victim of inevitable deterioration. The failure of the nation-state is fuelling sectarian, ethnic and religious aspirations at the expense of common national identity. What happened in Somalia, Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan is only a foretaste of what is to come. The nation-state, having failed to lead the way to progress is crumbling under the very forces it has unleashed.

With the nation-state losing its sense of direction, foreign powers step in to fill the void, remapping the local scene to suit their own purposes. Lebanon's sectarian fabric, to give one example, is now being exploited by a host of international powers, each seeking to promote its own agenda. In Palestine, the nationalist and Islamist parties are now promoting the agendas of regional powers rather than the interests of their own people. In Sudan, the nation-state has failed to treat its citizens equitably, and the violations it allowed to happen have invited foreign intervention.

Will our ruling elites ever see their responsibility for the current failure of the nation-state? Will they ever recognise the process through which they have brought us to our knees? I don't think so. Despite their repeated failures, these elites are still sabotaging their own societies. They are still trying to keep their nations weak. They are still encouraging ethnic and religious animosities. And by doing so, they wreck the last vestiges of the nation-states we once aspired to have.

* The writer is a political analyst at the quarterly journal Al-Demoqrateya published by Al-Ahram.