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December 10, 2004

Signals in the Middle East and The birth of modern Arab politics

Topics: Middle East News and Perspectives

It's late, dog's been out, kid's asleep, cat stays out, one last touching of bases with comrades I've never seen, and there sits Chrenkoff's post entitled "Turning Palestine into an Arab Tiger." What flashed into mind was my post the other day - "Egypt TV Airs Interview With Israeli Embassy Official."

So I went back and looked at one of the final comments in my post which was, "Sure, things can still fall apart, but Arafat is dead, you've got motion in Palestinian politics, and at least one Arab State is making cozy with Israel (sort of). These are hopefull signs that there may be changes in the wind that show promise for better things to come."

I then read Chrenkoff's post and the piece he referred to in Beirut's "Daily Star" by Rami G. Khouri, executive editor, who  writes about the Palestinian presidential election. Chrenkoff and Khouri are right, there is an air of change in Arab politics, and they are correct in their recognition that the Palestinian political discourse is a signal that the potential for change is indeed broader than the narrow scope of Israeli-Palestinian politics. As Khouri says in his article, "it represents the birth of modern politics in the Arab world through a credible, legitimate process of contesting power that has not been achieved in any Arab country to date."

Now I'm a hard-science kind of guy, not very touchy-feely, but I agree with what Chrenkoff goes on to say when he addresses the socio-economic disparity that exists between Palistinians and even the Israelis who are not exactly an economic success. If the potential for entrepreneurial spirit is crushed by statism, as is warned against by Chrenkoff, surely economic malaise will continue and so will political unrest. The positive winds of change will simply revert back to the political and social storms that have fueled the violence and unrest we've seen for far too long. Chrenkoff's post is comprehensive as are his sources; together they make for required reading if you really want to gain a serious perspective for what really may be happening in the Middle East. Go Read Chrenkoff...

Posted by Hyscience at December 10, 2004 12:15 AM

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Comments

Posted by: EdWonk at December 10, 2004 2:52 AM

Posted by: EdWonk at December 10, 2004 2:55 AM

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