September 10, 2010
AND THE WEST PROPS UP THE OPPRESSIVE REGIMES...:
Arab regimes' autocratic nature masks their vulnerability: Lack of public debate makes Arab societies less compliant to new laws – and explains the heavy-handed state enforcement (Brian Whitaker, 9/09/10, guardian.co.uk)
There is a popular assumption – especially in the west – that because Arab regimes tend to be autocratic and authoritarian, the state in Arab countries is also strong.Yesterday on Cif, Ahmed Moor wrote about the problem of disbanding Palestinian militias in Lebanon. Why, you might wonder, doesn't the Lebanese government just pull its finger out and disarm them? The short answer is that it can't because it's too weak.
Similarly, as I pointed out myself in an article a couple of weeks ago, most Arab governments are incapable of collecting taxes effectively.
There is a paradox here, because Arab regimes have an almost insatiable urge to control. They legislate and regulate endlessly, they establish large armies and security forces and employ vast bureaucracies – and yet their ability to exercise power and influence the behaviour of their citizens is far more limited than it looks.
Regime survival is of course the top priority, so it's hardly surprising that the power of the state should be directed towards controlling dissent, and that this is the area where its might is deployed most forcefully and effectively. But exercising power in this way is often mistaken for a sign of strength when in reality it is an acknowledgment of vulnerability. As the late Nazih Ayubi noted in his book, Over-stating the Arab State: "The Arab state is therefore often violent because it is weak."
...then wonders why the people hate us.
