The crisis facing most Arab countries will only get worse, making it impossible to achieve reasonable degrees of growth and thereby allowing foreign forces to impose a greater degree of influence in the region.
We need equitable distribution of wealth and proper management of the available resources. Oil-producing Arab countries must vary their production base and make use of the financial resources to increase operational and production capabilities. Arab countries without plentiful natural resources have an even greater responsibility. Their inability to properly manage their economies and move out of the shadow of foreign debt and resultant pressures from donor countries and the International Monetary Fund have become abundantly clear.
When a superpower puts pressure on an Arab regime to take certain economic measures, it puts that country in an unenviable position. If it agrees, public anger and the threat of an uprising put the heat on the government domestically. If it doesn’t, the superpower will immediately begin calling in its debts, which in turn leads to general grumbling that will force the country to make alternative decisions that haven’t been fully studied and examined. This only adds to the challenges the Arab country faces and will force wealthy citizens to transfer their money out of the country.
In the past years, Arab countries have been suffering a steady drain not just of capital but also of highly qualified individuals, who have been alienated by their lack of political participation and because their skills are not being put to good use.
The political leadership must remedy that problem. Healthy growth means fighting corruption in all its forms; eradicating nepotism and discrimination in job appointments is key. Skill alone should be the yardstick.
Once the country’s apparatuses diminish in the eyes of the people, all society will be affected, and it may reach a point when the country loses the respect of its citizens - and that lead to confrontations and chaos.
There is no answer but to strengthen the sense of patriotism. Identification cards can create some feelings of loyalty and pride in belonging to a bigger entity, but the government must do more. Slogans alone are no longer appealing. A person without social insurance, for example, and the sense that goes with it of his country assuring him of a decent life, will see no point to defending his country, and will impart no loyalty to his children. Only if citizens are treated with justice and their basic needs are met can we counter the threat of disorder, both internally and externally.
Mass communication presents another challenge. Satellite TV has penetrated the borders of all Arab countries with its dazzling images. There is no challenge to its supremacy from inside our borders, and that means that our minds will become increasingly attuned to the superficial programming satellite TV floods us with.
In the long term, Arab culture will simply disappear and we will internalize the values satellite television and the Internet overwhelmingly present. Our children will forget their traditions and the culture of consumption will swallow them. In short, the technological gap between Arabs and the West must urgently be reduced; money must be spent generously on mechanisms that allow us to compete.
Another challenge that outside forces can so easily harness to their course is divisions, perceived or real, along communal lines. Those with a grievance will turn to anyone who will take up their cause if they feel that their government is not interested.
Most of these challenges can be contained; two things are essential, and they are inseparable. Political participation at all levels and good governance. A company without leadership will crumble and go bankrupt despite the skills of its staff. It is the same for a country. It must be proactive and contain situations before they get out of hand.
— Suraya Al-Shehry is a Saudi writer. She is based in Riyadh.