Summary
by Rami G. Khouri, The Daily Star, Lebanon
It is tempting but difficult to identify a single dynamic at the level of state and society that explains the many different conflicts across the Arab world.
Shiite-Sunni and Iranian-Saudi confrontations? These are all elements of the many complex political, social and ideological forces that are shaking up our region, and many of them are deeply intertwined, which is one reason why most conflict situations are so difficult to resolve.
This problem is the steadily expanded sense among many millions of ordinary Arab and non-Arab men and women that they do not enjoy the protection of the rule of law, and that those who exercise power – Arabs, Israelis, Iranians, Americans and others – can get away with all kinds of terrible crimes against them with total impunity.
Our Arab societies are brittle, volatile, violent and fragmenting, in many cases because there is no effective check on the exercise of power by indigenous or external powers.
This may seem like a minor incident, but in fact it reflects one of the most destructive forces that have caused the political degeneration of most Arab societies: The insistence by ruling political orders that are anchored in military systems that the state knows best, and the citizens must merely obey.
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Categories: Arab World, Asia
It should be mentioned more clearly that this ‘lawlessness’ actually is a result of the ‘power vacuum’ created by the destruction of states like Iraq, Syria, Libya by outside powers.