Patrick Seale, Valdai Club's expert shares his view on Middle East latest events.
What we are witnessing now in the Middle East is of tremendous importance. This is the Arab peoples campaign for freedom after decades of autocratic rule. It is tremendously important because the Arab people have shaken off their fear of the security state, therefore it is a very heartening development, which of course all Western countries should welcome with great enthusiasm.
We have already seen this popular movement spread through other countries, notably of course Libya, Yemen and even Bahrain. So there is definitely a domino effect taking place. Young people throughout the Arab world want certain things: they want freedom, they want dignity. They do want democratic government, but in addition they want jobs, better treatment as well as an end to government corruption.
One of the problems across the Arab world is of course the population explosion seen in recent decades; this has left the educational system severely overburdened. As a result, schools and universities are operating at full capacity, producing semi-educated people with no jobs to go to. This is clearly one motif common to the revolutions in many of these countries.
The motivations behind this revolutionary impulse are numerous. On the one hand, there really is a thirst for democracy, a thirst for an end to the states of emergency, an end to police brutality, an end to imprisonment without trial, an end to torture, as well as other different aspects of the Arab security state. Thats certainly one motivation. Another is the desire to see a more equitable distribution of these countries resources. At the moment, in a large number of countries, wealth is restricted to a small elite often close to the ruler. Then there is an impoverished middle class, and an even more impoverished working class. In countries like Egypt, some statistics say that as much as 40% of the population is getting by on less than 2 dollars a day. Whether or not this is true, it is certainly the case in a large number of nations. So the motivations are political and economic. People want bread, they want jobs, and they want a better future for their families.
Full version of his article was originally published on valdaiclub.com
What we are witnessing now in the Middle East is of tremendous importance. This is the Arab peoples campaign for freedom after decades of autocratic rule. It is tremendously important because the Arab people have shaken off their fear of the security state, therefore it is a very heartening development, which of course all Western countries should welcome with great enthusiasm.
We have already seen this popular movement spread through other countries, notably of course Libya, Yemen and even Bahrain. So there is definitely a domino effect taking place. Young people throughout the Arab world want certain things: they want freedom, they want dignity. They do want democratic government, but in addition they want jobs, better treatment as well as an end to government corruption.
One of the problems across the Arab world is of course the population explosion seen in recent decades; this has left the educational system severely overburdened. As a result, schools and universities are operating at full capacity, producing semi-educated people with no jobs to go to. This is clearly one motif common to the revolutions in many of these countries.
The motivations behind this revolutionary impulse are numerous. On the one hand, there really is a thirst for democracy, a thirst for an end to the states of emergency, an end to police brutality, an end to imprisonment without trial, an end to torture, as well as other different aspects of the Arab security state. Thats certainly one motivation. Another is the desire to see a more equitable distribution of these countries resources. At the moment, in a large number of countries, wealth is restricted to a small elite often close to the ruler. Then there is an impoverished middle class, and an even more impoverished working class. In countries like Egypt, some statistics say that as much as 40% of the population is getting by on less than 2 dollars a day. Whether or not this is true, it is certainly the case in a large number of nations. So the motivations are political and economic. People want bread, they want jobs, and they want a better future for their families.
Full version of his article was originally published on valdaiclub.com
