Comments 35

Новое столетие для Ближнего Востока

Dec 19, 2015 Jeffrey D. Sachs

НЬЮ-ЙОРК – Соединенные Штаты, Европейский Союз, и ведущие Западные институты, такие как Всемирный банк неоднократно задают вопрос, почему Ближний Восток не может управлять собой сам. Вопрос ставится честно, но без особого самосознания. В конце концов, самым важным препятствием, для эффективного управления в регионе, было отсутствие самоуправления: политические институты региона были парализованы в результате повторяющегося вмешательства США и Европы, со времен Первой Мировой Войны, а в некоторых местах даже раньше.

Одного столетия достаточно. 2016 год должен ознаменовать начало нового века доморощенных Ближневосточных политик, направленных на срочное решение задач устойчивого развития.

Судьба Ближнего Востока в течение последних 100 лет была решена в ноябре 1914 года, когда Османская империя выбрала проигравшую сторону в Первой Мировой Войне. Результатом стал развал империи, где державы-победительницы, Великобритания и Франция, захватили гегемонный контроль над ее остатками. Великобритания, уже контролирующая Египет с 1882 года, взяла эффективный контроль над правительствами современного Ирака, Иордании, Израиля и Палестины, Саудовской Аравии, в то время как Франция, уже контролирующая большую часть Северной Африки, взяла под контроль Ливан и Сирию.

To continue reading, please log in or enter your email address.

To continue reading, please log in or register now. After entering your email, you'll have access to two free articles every month. For unlimited access to Project Syndicate, subscribe now.

Featured

Defining Diplomacy Down

Oct 22, 2018 Richard N. Haass
What Has Google Ever Done for Us?

Oct 19, 2018 Yanis Varoufakis
Why a Sino-American Cold War Won’t Happen

Oct 22, 2018 Ngaire Woods
The High Cost of High Finance

Oct 18, 2018 Howard Davies
The Big Blockchain Lie

Oct 15, 2018 Nouriel Roubini

Jeffrey D. Sachs

Writing for PS since 1995
290 Commentaries

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, is Director of Columbia’s Center for Sustainable Development and of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. His books include The End of Poverty, Common Wealth, The Age of Sustainable Development, Building the New American Economy, and most recently, A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism.

new comment has been posted. new comments have been posted.

0 Comments on this paragraph, 46 in all 46 Comments on this article

Bob Chang Jul 10, 2016

Great fresh ideas! Bob Chang
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Eldad Viljoen Jan 8, 2016

I reckon if we should take the same tac as China - non-interventionism. Combating religious or cultural institutions just results in digging in of heels. The social and economic benefits of the cohesion characterized by secular states will stand in a stark contrast to non-reforming nations.
If anthropology is anything to go by, this betterment should trickle through to the rest of humankind, especially when we truly enter the age of robotization/automation. Living like beasts-of-burden in a desert somewhere will seem very unappealing when contrasted with the extreme comparative luxury.
The world doesn't need to interfere in these countries. Just leave them alone and let human nature take care of the rest.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Mario Babini Jan 2, 2016

My true congratulations to Prof. Sachs to finally articulate the true reasons why the Middle-East situation is currently in such a dire situation.

I could not agree more on the need for an end to short-term politically or economically motivated interventions in the Middle-East.

IMHO, what the interventionist nations can see now, after a Century of mistakes, is resembling to the truth, which is accordingly like this:

7“They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.

So what else is there to proof that normally history teaches that people (or at least politicians) seem to be unable to learn from history.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
John Doyle Dec 27, 2015

It's way too late for the ME[and MENA] to solve anything through education. Quite apart from the religious inertia needing to be overcome, MENA is no longer capable of supporting itself. It will always be captive to external forces. Egypt with 2% arable land for 90 million people, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, are all desert nations. They have already been wrecked by the contest for their oil, dating back to WW!, so the 100 years counts from 1914.
The whole world civilization is sliding to ruin. Energy is too dear now ,[anything over $20/bbl] to maintain the civilization we built on oil when it was very cheap. The ME is further along towards collapse than anywhere else.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Esfandiar Maasoumi Dec 25, 2015

The quality of the majority of comments is terrifying. The ignorance of the Westerners about Western tribal history and role of religion and "the church" until very recently, is horrifying. Even the currently barbaric violence in ME compares favorably with European History until the time when progressive scientists were being burned at the stake for contradicting the "holy book" on the nature of the planet earth and everything else (including the Sun!!) orbiting around it. That was only a few hundred years ago. The forefathers of American democracy and revolution considered women and non whites as "sub human", unworthy of owning property; and if you didn't own property, you were not given the right of participation in democratic institutions (like voting). I wish there was a way to have commentators pass a simple literacy test for comments to be posted. Of course, behavioral sciences are increasingly positing that people read and learn whatever conforms to their already held views, especially the less informed ones.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Esfandiar Maasoumi Dec 25, 2015

My compliments to Professor Sachs. Fin, some courageous candor on ME and root causes of its problems. The most consequential and ongoing problem for the ME has been the West, for well over a century. No other case exposes the "lie" about the ME than the case of Iran. There is no single defense of the allegation against the West and its hypocritical utterances about "democracy" than Iran. West cannot tolerate democratic outcomes in ME and south America, because, I would argue, West itself lacks true democracy and free institutions. The latter are further disintegrating, fast, by a disastrous lack of participation from individuals who have given up. West is addicted to wars in the interest of large stakeholders and corporate giants, financed by colonies like Saudi Arabia's local doormen, paid for mercenary armies (sometimes including entire armies like Saddam's thugs and murderous soldiers, (now names ISIL!), and pitifully short sighted, short term perceived gains for oilmen and similar actors. There is all too little discussion and education about "state terrorism". This must stop if we are to have any chance of equitable and real economic progress, followed by social progress. West cannot continue to simultaneously destroy democratic institutions and democrats, and demand them, any more than it can simultaneously fund and organize mercenary armies like ISIL and other Jihadists, and bomb them. A sampling of uninformed statements by Presidential candidates and other political "leaders" in the US and elsewhere on these issues makes clear how deep this problem runs.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Kenneth Hopper Dec 24, 2015

It is good to see Prof. Sachs draw attention to the importance of Development as an alternative to terrorism. Remember Pol Pot!
LEARNING FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE EAST ASIA ECONOMIC MIRACLE
A New Archive of Papers from General MacArthur’s “Civil Communications Section”.
Let me draw attention to an important addition to the Drucker Institute archives and website in Claremont, CA that goes a long way to explaining the origin of the postwar WWII Asian Economic Miracle in Occupation Japan.
The early months that followed the Sept. 2nd 1945 signing of the Instrument of Surrender on the battleship Missouri, gave rise to optimism in Washington and Japan. Japan’s first postwar election on April 10th, 1946 saw crowds outside the Dai Ichi building, MacArthur’s Headquarters, applauding him. Two years later, the winter of 1948/49 told a different story with the Japanese disappointed and Washington very concerned at developments in Japan and elsewhere. East Europe had been taken over by Soviet Russia and Mao was consolidating his power in China. A General Strike was avoided only by MacArthur putting his personal authority on the line. Trouble through industry was accompanied by acts of sabotage on the Japanese railways counted by the thousand. Passengers were killed and the body of its president was found on the line. Events did not promise the happy Japan or the smooth running Japanese railways we now know!
Washington had come to realize how much investment was needed at home making it impossible to provide a Marshall Plan for Japan: President Truman instead offered the famous Point 4 of his Inaugural speech on January, 20th 1949:
"We must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth … The material resources which we can afford to use for assistance of other(s) (are) limited. But our imponderable resources in technical knowledge are constantly growing and are inexhaustible.”
What then happened has been well reported in the worlds of industry and manufacturing but not elsewhere. The need to communicate with the Japanese required the early establishment of a highly competent Civil Communications Section (CCS), in MacArthur’s Tokyo Head Quarters with an outstanding team of US Electrical Communications engineers, mostly from ATT/Bell Labs. They could not have been spared before the end of the War. Young Homer Sarasohn was a member of the brilliant Rad Lab at MIT. Charles Protzman (“Uncle Charlie”) had run Western Electric’s largest cable factories (and unlike his wartime Japanese counterparts, was noted for the quality of his product!) while Frank Polkinghorn had been world wide head of the never cracked, US Army secret coding system, so secret that even its name could not be mentioned till 1976.
Sarasohn told me that as Head of CCS Industrial Division he sent word to MacArthur that the engineers had between them “the imponderable resources” promised by Truman and should share them. There was opposition from economists on MacArthur’s staff that the US would be giving away too much. Faced with such high level disagreement, MacArthur organized what was called a “floor show” outside his sixth floor office where each side had 20 minutes to present their case. Sarasohn never forgot MacArthur sitting silent and expressionless through both presentations, walking to the door, still in silence, turning, pointing the stem of his corn-cob at him and saying, “Go! Do it!”. We all know they did: the companies they worked with became the Japanese Electronics Industry! Fortunately, the CCS engineers had been made temporary US Civil Servants and all important decisions were recorded on multiple layers of onion skin. They gave copies to me and I am pleased to report, the Drucker Institute has done a fine job setting them up in an independent archive with much now on the Web. Groups interested in economic development should now work to draw lessons for hopeful regions in the world including the Middle East. They will find a substantial literature now exists on CCS in Japanese and English.
- jagjeet sinha Dec 25, 2015
  
  Material resources are limited - but the imponderable resources in technical knowledge are constantly growing and inexhaustible.
  General MacArthur. 20 January 1949.
  Human effort that produces "technical knowledge" - must remain constantly growing and remain "inexhaustible".
  Japan and The East Asian miracle allowed "the inexhaustible resources" to remain "inexhaustible".
  Wherever Religion intervention politically bankrupted "the inexhaustible resources", the miracle sputtered to a stop.
  The unlimited - "inexhaustible" - pursuit of technical knowledge REWARDS THE HUMAN EFFORT.
  The East Asian DNA has an implicit resonance with The unlimited pursuit of technical knowledge.
  Buddhism is a Sanskrit word meaning - The pursuit of knowledge.
  MacArthur is revered in Japan for having succeeded in perhaps interpreting The Holy Trinity itself.
  The Transformation of The Transient into The Eternal - is the essence of The Holy Trinity.
  In Sanskrit. In Japanese. In Chinese. In Korean. And In English.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Bruce Taylor Dec 24, 2015

What you neglect to mention is that the Islamic world governed itself exceedingly well for about 1000 years till the fall of the Ottomans.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Andrew Kelly Dec 23, 2015

What happens to Israel?
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Donata Garrasi Dec 22, 2015

Professor Sachs, thank you for your insightful and timely article. I would like to suggest an additional principle, which is closely linked to you fourth suggestion: promoting economic cooperation and investment. This is something the Western world, particularly Europe could help with, if asked. The issue was discussed recently at a meeting organised by the Italian Foreign Ministry (Mediterranean Dialogue, Rome 11-12 December), and supported by such speakers as Adnan Ahmed YOUSIF President and Chief Executive, Al Baraka Banking Group. There seems to be a plethora of funds and initiatives around a growth agenda for the region. And also some really good ideas, like that of Development Zones for Syrian refugees proposed by M Brunnermeier et al. When one visits Libya or areas bordering Syria, however, as I recently did, or simply reads the newspapers, the only issues discussed are who is bombing whom and who is donating how much aid to whom. Would you not volunteer to pull existing or new efforts that aim at bringing/keeping investment in the region to contribute to " a new century for the Middle East"? Happy to help out. Donata Garrasi, Partner, ECAS Consulting
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Walter Gingery Dec 22, 2015

The Middle East will never made progress until its residents can figure out (1) how to transcend their tribalism (just imagine, unlike just about everyone in the Middle East, no one in Britain has identified himself by tribe since the Romans), and (2) resolve their relation to religion.

The region's only successful state (I don't think anyone could call Israel a "success" in its present situation.) has been Turkey. It is well to remember that before WWI Turkey (then the Ottoman Empire) was likewise prey to European meddling.

What ended that was a secular, nationalist revolution, initiated by the "Young Turks" and brought to completion by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk).
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Ken Verrett Dec 21, 2015

I agree with the suggested five principles going forward.

What is to be done with the terrorist who inflect such damage today, terrorists who would resist all attempts to implement your longer range suggestions?
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Julius Bloomfield Dec 21, 2015

Perhaps we need to understand the mentality of today’s revolutionist.
Over the centuries we have seen disenfranchised revolutionists move from a politically based ideology to a religious ideology. Over the past 150 years or so, many revolutions installed new communist governments and the world shuddered, thinking it was the end of civilization. However the new governments proved that they were as inefficient and corrupt as the old ones they had replaced, which led to the activists abandoning those causes. We don’t see too many communist revolutions happening today.
In the past revolutions have been mainly confined to countries, but with a religious revolution the false political boundaries of the middle east have been bridged, and the revolution is against the west countries and the governments that are supported by them.
Today we need to let the area evolve as it may, and if that means a Caliphate then so be it. When it shows that it is as corrupt and inefficient as the rest of the world then it will crumble along with the support it has now. The developed world has made a complete mess of the area politically and the prospect of them fixing a religious revolution with a political solution is very slim.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
John A Werneken Dec 21, 2015

Maybe. Usually intervention is to prevent something disliked, as no one has ever made a real profit from conquest.

That area has not governed itself for at least 2500 years why start now. It ought to be sufficient to just kill enough people to discourage them from exporting their dissatisfaction.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Natarajan Balaji Dec 21, 2015

Thank you for an excellent article sir
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
yw yap Dec 21, 2015

My 2-cent:
(i) Less meddling please
(ii) Respect others for the way they govern or wish to be governed as e.g. the democratic way is not ideal in some circumstances visa vis time & place.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
messy1 messy1 Dec 20, 2015

From the article: "The same behavior has continued up to the present day: the overthrow of Libya’s Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011, the toppling of Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi in 2013."

Nope. There was no real intervention. While there was help from most countries in NATO for the people's revolutionary government fighting the genocidal regime of Qadaffi (who was democratically elected by whom?), the 2013 revolution against Morsi, who had torn up the new constitution and set up a fascistic regime, was wholly legitimate. After all 53% of Egypt's huge population had shown up in protest to demand his ouster.

Why was the 2011 revolution legitimate and the 2013 one not?
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Cary Fraser Dec 20, 2015

There was an area classified as the Palestine Mandate as authorized by the League of Nations and to be administered by the British. Israel was established in one part of that region in 1948 and the remainder was technically supposed to provide the basis for an Palestinian state. Unfortunately for the Palestinians, it is occupied by Israel.
History is complicated but it also needs to be understood.
- Cary Fraser Dec 22, 2015
  
  A comment that reflects the quality of analysis that helped to create the atmosphere within Israel that led to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin - an intelligent , thoughtful, and strategic leader who demonstrated the courage of his convictions.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- messy1 messy1 Dec 20, 2015
  
  The history isn't complicated at all. The racist Palestinians REFUSED the partition, they started a war of agression, which waqs supported by FIVE armies, and they LOST.
  
  They don't want peace, they want genocide. It's simple as that.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Zsolt Hermann Dec 20, 2015

All the very interesting and informed comments are raising many valid questions on this comprehensive overview article.
Still I think if we take just one message from the article it is already a move towards the right direction.

For me that message is that in a globally interconnected and interdependent world there are no local or even regional solutions.
Each problem is today global, and thus each solution also requires a mutual global understanding and mutual global discussion and implementation.

We can clearly see in any of today's flash-points that if we continue acting instinctively, in our inherently self-serving, self-justifying way we end up holding loaded guns against each other's heads as in a Tarantino movie.
But through mutually complementing cooperation we can raise ourselves onto a qualitatively higher level of existence.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
henry bonk Dec 20, 2015

Morsi was not overthrown by the West, US backed it. Some of the charges in this article are glib and inaccurate.The Middle East deserves better and
more thoughtful analysis.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Allen Mackenzie Dec 20, 2015

Typical leftist approach; blame the more advanced democratic west and coddle the backward tyrannical Islamists.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
george sos Dec 20, 2015

The author forgets to mention the millions more of refugees that will then come europe's way if the west was to abandon its support for all the dictators and theocracies who survived the 20th century with the help of western powers who had clear interests in supporting them...
The author speaks from across the pond ,and forgets libya today after the democratisation by the west.

The problem is not the intervention dear,the problem is the quality of "democracy" you want to give them.

Same like the democracy of the US poor......
and of course they are not stupid to take it.
And since their only defence is religion,there you have it.

Give me the IMF keys and a week,and i will end ALL terrorism in the planet.
One week!!!!
But ,it is going to cost to the rich.
they will have to do without whatever it is they have been stealing/exploiting .
Or else,jihad will eventually take the form of a social revolt against corruption and poverty.
Something that signs can already be seem in places like Tunisia,where the young are at the edge,between taking up weapons and support ISIS,since they see no future for them any way.
But who sees these things from the thinkers and the power holders?no one.....
I consider ourselves warned....
- Talal Serhan Dec 28, 2015
  
  If troubles are left to continue in the midlle east, it will eventualy drain and exhaust the west. With the rise of other super powers they will escalate, and then it will be to late for the west to do much.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- M M Dec 20, 2015
  
  My point below exactly. Troubles have started already but they are being suppressed and very few incidents are being reported.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Petey Bee Dec 20, 2015

Yes to the entire article. And we should invest in the upgrading our foreign policy institutions' culture to allow such ideas to be expressed openly by academics and professionals even within the field.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Art Chen Dec 20, 2015

I am no fan of professor Sachs but on this issue he is right on. An analogous development is China, where the west and Japan torn it apart for a hundred years. After WWII, the U.S. failed in its support of KMT and Communist came to power. China suffered greatly under Mao but finally has found its way. One reason for the tension between China and the U.S. is the residue support of U.S. for an autonomous Taiwan and previous support of Tibet (or are there still U.S. support?). The U.S. should let China solve its internal problems including Taiwan.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
David Neunuebel Dec 20, 2015

The author states, "Britain, already in control of Egypt since 1882, took effective control of governments in today’s Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Palestine, and Saudi Arabia, while France, already in control of much of North Africa, took control of Lebanon and Syria," and yet Israel didn't exist until 1948. Sachs is a PhD for heaven sakes.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Tim Chambers Dec 20, 2015

Thank you,

I have been saying for years, and commenting for months on this subject that we need to stop meddling in other countries affairs, particularly in the Middle East, where we don't understand the dynamics. Now someone with some cultural capital is finally saying the same thing.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Henry Rech Dec 20, 2015

Given the competing ambitions and longstanding enmities in the region there are few reasons to be sanguine in the medium term. The obvious divisions involve the Sunni+varietals vs. the Shia, the Arabians vs. the Persians and the Turks vs the Kurds - each of the competing groups seeking to annihilate the other (except for the Kurds, they just want to survive). There are three failed states, Iraq, Syria and the Yemen. There is the Iraqi oil fields which are up for grabs. There is peak oil. There is the shift away from fossil fuels. There is the collapsing price of oil. There is the nuclear ambitions of Iran and probably Saudi Arabia. There is the hundreds of billions being spent on militarizing the region. Definitely an interesting place to do politics.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
j. von Hettlingen Dec 20, 2015

Jeffrey D. Sachs hopes that next year would usher in a "new century for the Middle East". Indeed, 2016 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Sykes-Picot agreement, a secret understanding reached in May 1916 between Great Britain and France, for the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. The two grabbed "hegemonic control over its remnants" and carved out successor states to later ensure their access to oil and transit routes to Asia.
Even though many of these artificial states in the Middle East gained independence after the departure of Britain and France in the wake of World War II, a lasting pattern of destructive outside meddling still persists today, with America filling the shoes. Since its "emergence as a global power," the US had been relentlessly manipulating politics in the region, ousting hostile leaders and installing puppets and stooges friendly to Washington's interests - weapons sales, military bases etc.
As to the question the international community has been asking - "why the Middle East can’t govern itself," Sachs explains, "the single most important impediment to good governance in the region has been its lack of self-governance." He puts the blame on a century-long Western intervention, undermining legitimate governments, crippling their "political institutions", and depriving their citizens of opportunities to go through the trial and error process, which is essential for the region to fully develop itself politically.
How would "a new century of homegrown Middle Eastern politics" look like? According to Sachs, it should be "focused urgently on the challenges of sustainable development." He proposes "five principles" to make it happen. Needless to say, the US has to put forth a greater share of positive contributions.
First of all the CIA must "end covert CIA operations aimed at toppling or destabilizing governments anywhere in the world." Sachs maintains the CIA backed army officer Adib al-Shishakhli to seize power in Syria in 1949. Where does he get this information from? It's true that in 1953 the US and Britain used their secret services to topple Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, to punish him for nationalising the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, and installed the authoritarian Shah Reza Pahlavi. But was CIA responsible for the ouster of Libya’s Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011, Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi in 2013, and the ongoing war against Syria’s Bashar al-Assad? Sachs also says "repeated failed operations by the CIA have left massive supplies of armaments in the hands of violent foes of the US and Europe."
Second, the US should not defy the UN Security Council. The UN body rejected war in Iraq in 2003, but to no avail. Russia vetoed "the US-backed overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad," and "the US would have been wise to abstain from covert operations to topple him." But the US is fighting ISIS in Syria, and not involved in toppling Assad!
Third, the West should "accept the reality that democracy in the Middle East will produce many Islamist victories at the ballot box." One should let the people make their own experiences and elect and unseat their leaders.
Fourth, leaders "from the Sahel through North Africa and the Middle East to Central Asia should recognize that the most important challenge facing the Islamic world today is the quality of education." True, lacking know-how and skills there is "little prospect for economic prosperity and political stability."
Finally, Sachs urges people to "address the exceptional vulnerability to environmental degradation and overdependence on hydrocarbons." Indeed, "desertification, rising temperatures" lead to water scarcity, which ultimately creates "food insecurity."
It is true that "quality education, job skills, advanced technologies, and sustainable development" outweigh political issues like "Sunni-Shia divide, Assad’s political future, and doctrinal disputes." Yet it requires courage and far-sighted leadership to forge political reforms. Unfortunately ethnic-tribal and religious identities count more than national unity. Without consensus among politicians a country can hardly move forward.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Curtis Carpenter Dec 19, 2015

Professor Sachs seems to remain blind to the possibility that "democracy" is not a viable answer for the people of the Middle East -- at least not the democracy that we imagine we enjoy in the West. Theocracy may be the right answer for them, although we might hope for a form of theocracy that can do without beheadings, roastings, crucifictions, stonings and so on -- although even there, who are we to be too critical -- or too involved?
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Nurbek Achilov Dec 19, 2015

It is an excellent approach to the issues on the global agenda. Undelining political context is the most important point. The politics as a new form of managing states, its people and resources, is not the latest model of development, but it is a model for developing the developing countries, which stepped to its independence unprepared and totally with radically wrong approaches in their forign affairs. It actually created the whole bunch of problems. As some past and present leaders of the Middle East and Asia have seen the West as enimies because of past interventions, they see themselves the only leaders to fight and keep the power based on religion rather than education, science and political approaches. It is hard to bring the ruler in any country and hope to see the right politics, but under the UN resolution it is possible to create a unique state constitution for all countries to be accepted. Only by UN actions it is possible to create politically live parties and people, which create new political systems in any part of the world.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Steven J. Klees Dec 19, 2015

Thank you, Prof. Sachs!
Steve Klees
University of Maryland
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
M M Dec 19, 2015

The challenges that have faced and are facing the Middle East are known and have been known for a very long time. The West and everyone else should very simply stay out of it. The real challenge now which very few people are giving any importance to is dealing with the increase in crime in the West caused primarily by the media. The media must be unbiased and neutral, must report the truth and stay away from controversial issues such as religion. The Islamophobia (through discrimination, verbal abuse, knife attacks, shootings, etc.) that the world has been witnessing are all the recipes of big troubles to come. Rigging elections, turning a blind eye to peoples’ grievances can only make matters worse. Regrettably, a large majority of the people in the West (including the marginalized minorities) now consider every Muslim to be a Terrorist. The gap between people’s expectations and the current political and financial leadership has become too wide. The questions of inequalities, discrimination, disparities, fair and “true” democratic representations must be dealt with without any further delay. Obama was elected on a platform of “Yes We Can” to deal with the aforementioned and what did he do during his two terms in office?
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Bernard Fudim Dec 19, 2015

The Ottoman Empire was itself a hegemonic and cruel ruler. The truth is that mélange of peoples never knew the responsibility of self government.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
John Brian Shannon Dec 19, 2015

Hi Jeffrey,

It's a pleasure to read your fine essay Jeffrey, and I agree with every single word. I wish I'd written it.

One additional point, not only will Western squelching of democratically elected Islamist governments result in more civil strife and unstable regimes each with a limited shelf-life, it will broaden and deepen anti-Western sentiment and actually work to strengthen the Islamist hand.

The more the Western nations tighten their grip, the more each Muslim nation will lean towards become 100% Islamist.

What will the West do when they have finally succeeded in turning every Muslim nation (all 2.0 billion of them by 2022) into predominantly Islamist societies?

Whether on a personal level or an international level, every day we teach others how to treat us.

I respectfully submit that we begin teaching the leaders of Muslim nations and their citizens that democracy is real, and that it can actually work for them.

We're aways off from that, at this point.

As always, very best regards, JBS
- John Brian Shannon Dec 29, 2015
  
  Hi Talal Serhan,
  
  Funny that you should say that, because that's exactly what we've been saying to the Muslims for decades...
  
  "Leave us alone and don't try to impose your beliefs and lifestyle on us."
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- Talal Serhan Dec 28, 2015
  
  "we begin teaching the leaders of Muslim nations and their citizens that democracy is real, and that it can actually work for them".
  you 've just uncovered the real problem for the west with muslim nations,
  Leave them alone and don't try to impose your own believes and life style on them.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Michael Public Dec 19, 2015

This region and the west have been at war since the 7th century and will probably be at war for another thirteen centuries. It boils down to a basic view of the World. The west believes that the highest ideal is the freedom of the individual while Islam sees human simply as a kind of servant of the divine will (fatalism if you will). These viewpoints will clash violently in every single area of society they make contact. You mention education, for example, and there are large middle east education programs, but they centre on teaching that God's will is the only important thing - which breeds a kind of malcontent in the youth who look to the West and can't understand why if God's will is only important thing then why is the West (and not the devout Muslims) superior in a materialistic sense? The only conclusion they can draw us that the West made a kind of deal with the Devil and thus benefits in an illegitimate way. Thus it is no surprise that jihads and terrorism have become one the biggest problems today. While the points in the article are reasonable and practical, I don't think they will be effective because there is an age old war of ideologies here and they do nothing to reconcile them, only to suggest the middle east should become 'more Western'.
- Talal Serhan Dec 28, 2015
  
  I believe you should read more about Islam.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- M M Dec 20, 2015
  
  Add to this mix, the “tit for tat” and vendettas attitude on the part of some countries, can only add more fuel on already raging fires.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- John Reuter, Esq. (Ret.) Dec 20, 2015
  
  Michael Public nails it. My only personal observation is that until the Palestinian question is effectively answered, there will be no way out for America.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.