Good Governance and the Arab World
By
Geoffrey Kemp
From the July 14, 2002 edition of Al-Ittihad
Within the past month three very powerful, very critical messages have been addressed to the men who control the destiny of the Arab world. First, a distinguished group of Palestinian intellectuals published a communiqué in Al-Quds, the Palestinian daily, condemning the suicide bombing of Israeli civilians as wrong and counterproductive. Second, George Bush made his June 24th speech, calling for a change of leadership in the Palestinian Authority and identifying the need for better governance for the Palestinian people. Third, and probably most important, a survey commissioned by the United Nations Development Program and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development was published offering a bleak and brutally critical review of the growing gap between the Arab countries and the rest of the world.
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The Palestinian communiqué, subsequently republished with several modifications and additional signatures in Al-Quds, indicates the deep frustration felt by many Palestinian moderates with Arafat’s leadership especially his conduct during the current uprising and violence which has seen the end of Palestinian hopes for emancipation and prosperity. The content of the communiqué suggests that Bush’s call for better governance has widespread appeal within the Palestinian community even though Palestinians regard the U.S. President as overly pro-Israeli and acting out of domestic concerns rather than principle. But the reality is that despite its obvious flaws, Bush’s speech has nurtured more open criticism of Arafat’s governance throughout the Arab world. It will hopefully lead to a radical reorganization of the Palestinian Authority, its constitution and its accountability.
The key conclusion of the joint UN-Arab Fund report is that the Arab region is "richer than it is developed." Though there have been major improvements in reducing poverty and inequality, the region is "hobbled by a different kind of poverty- poverty of capabilities and poverty of opportunities." It argues that these conditions stem from three deficits. First, the Arab region ranks lowest in the world in terms of political freedom. Second, the empowerment of women "through economic and political participation" is also the lowest in the world. Third, large scale illiteracy and deficiencies in the educational system reduces the Arab countries ability to compete in the global market place and to increase economic productivity and thereby reduce unemployment and migration. The survey records some startling statistics. For instance, half the young Arabs polled want to emigrate; Greece translates more foreign books into Greek than the entire Arab world translates into Arabic; in 1999 the GDP of Spain was equal to that of all Arab countries put together, including the oil rich kingdoms of the Arabian Peninsula.
While similar reports on the Arab world have been issued in the past by international organizations and Western scholars and institutions, the fact that the authors of this survey were all distinguished Arab scholars and former statesmen adds greatly to its credibility and importance. And while it is inevitable that some of the Western press coverage of the survey has been couched in gleeful "I told you so" language, the hard facts presented by the authors must be digested and acted upon.
The survey has exposed problems that cannot be glossed over by Arab leaders. While the ultimate progress of Arab countries towards more open societies is invariably hampered by existing conflicts, including the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, the clear message coming from growing numbers of Arab intellectuals is that unresolved conflicts are no excuse for not dealing with societal problems which demand immediate attention.
In the absence of more representative governance, extremism, violence, and despair will flourish, as will the arguments of those who believe the United States has no option but to intervene and replace Arab regimes, beginning with Saddam Hussein. Irrespective of the debate in Washington about military intervention, there is a growing fear that the region is a powder keg and any number of events could trigger widespread conflict. U.S. officials believe most of their close Arab interlocutors agree with this analysis which is why they hope the calls for better governance will lead to early and effective reforms and why stronger condemnation of suicide bombings is an important step towards defusing the Arab-Israeli crisis.
Geoffrey
Kemp is Director of Regional Strategic Programs at The Nixon Center.
