Economics

جذور انعدام الثقة في الشرق الأوسط

Jul 8, 2016 Timur Kuran

دورهام ــ من الصعب أن يَغفَل المرء عن إدراك حالة انعدام الثقة التي تجتاح منطقة الشرق الأوسط. وكما تؤكد التجارب المنضبطة ذات الشواهد فإن العرب يثقون في الغرباء، الأجانب أو المحليين، بدرجة أقل كثيرا، مقارنة بالأوروبيين على سبيل المثال. وهذا من شأنه أن يعوق التقدم على العديد من الجبهات، من تطوير الأعمال إلى الإصلاحات الحكومية.

تساهم المجتمعات التي تتسم بانخفاض مستويات الثقة بقدر أقل إلى حد غير متناسب في التجارة الدولية، وتجتذب قدرا أقل من الاستثمار. ووفقا لتقرير القيم العالمية والأبحاث ذات الصِلة، تتدنى مستويات الثقة بين الأفراد في الشرق الأوسط بالقدر الكافي لجعل المعاملات التجارية مقتصرة على أشخاص يعرفون بعضهم بعضا إما بشكل شخصي أو من خلال المعارف المشتركة. وبسبب افتقارهم إلى الثقة، يهدر العرب غالبا فرصا مربحة محتملة للكسب من خلال التبادل.

وعلى نحو مماثل، يميل العرب في تعاملاتهم مع المؤسسات العامة إلى طلب وساطة فرد يربطهم به شكل من أشكال الاتصال الشخصي. وتشمل العواقب المترتبة على هذا أنماط من عدم العدالة في ما يمكن أن يتوقعه الناس من مثل هذه المؤسسات. وهذا كفيل بتقويض فعاليتها.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 11 Comments on this article

Barry Needalman Aug 25, 2016

It is more likely that lack of trust is the result of failed or corrupt governments than any historical or religious cause. When nepotism and corruption replace the rule of law, citizens will trust only their family or, to a lessor effect, their family's allies.
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george jonisch Aug 15, 2016

Is it religion or is it tribalism? Industrial development needed trust and trust needed he rule of law not the rule of men. Tribalism is the opposite of the rule of law. Justice is impossible in a tribal based socio-political system. If a system acknowledges the validity of the tribalist outlook sharia or any other body of law will be secondary to tribal head-oligarchic injustice. need we ask how far back tribalism has reigned in the middle east?
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Abdullah Al-Assaf Jul 25, 2016

With all due respect, this is a very shallow statement. Any ethnic minority would develop such norms due to their disadvantaged position at the society. Here I would refer you to Porter & Sensenbrenner (1993).

One last note: Islamic law and interest rates do not match; therefore, I invite you to dig deeper for the root of this phenomenon, and don't settle with the easy choice.
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Jaap Bosma Jul 14, 2016

This article is very speculative.

Low trust is likely related to high corruption and the lack of "rule of law". Islamic law, if applied without corruption, would improve the situation, especially since the percentage of non-muslims is quite low.

If you want to make a case against islamic law there are much better arguments, like its prohibition on interest (which hampers the economy), its subordination of women or its rigid structure.
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Casper Pedersen Jul 10, 2016

Any society which base it's common law on one religion is so be left behind in who society is developing. It will cause stagnation. Today we point fingers at the muslim countries, but a few centuries it was a problem in Asia, then even earlier it was en Europe. And evne Rom was eventually brought to it's knees due to a static belief system.
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Alberto Baldessari Jul 8, 2016

Project Syndicate at its best. A scholar discusses his own research and offers a new perspective on a current topic.
I wish we had more articles like professor Kuran's. We get too many op-eds written by "thought leaders" who feel entitled to stray from their expertise and spout platitudes on whatever tickle their fancy.
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Roger Brown Jul 8, 2016

Thoughtful and informative article. Thanks. When sharia law was created, it was a "killer app" that enabled people to more effectively do business, especially launch caravans and later divide the spoils. As I recall, sharia law was created by merchants. But as the world changed, it didn't. Western corporations superseded them. Might sharia be updated to reflect modern realities? I realize the difficulty of this in a polarized Islamic world.
- P. Kamath Jul 9, 2016
  
  If you believe Sharia can be updated, you must be dreaming. It is is given by God himself and can not be altered. Read the history of Islam of the past .1400 years!
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https://prosyn.org/yAAkCRhar

جذور انعدام الثقة في الشرق الأوسط

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