Prepared by the researcher
Dr. Issam Iyrot – PhD in Political Studies and Public Law – Assistant Professor at Nablus University for Vocational –and Technical Education / Palestine
Democratic Arab Center
Journal of Afro-Asian Studies : Fourteenth Issue – August 2022
A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin
:To download the pdf version of the research papers, please visit the following link
Abstract
In this research we tried to identify the path of democratic transformation in the Arab countries, and the focus was on its relationship to extremism by addressing the determinants of democratic transformation and the issue of the Arab Spring in terms of its and causes repercussions on the Arab situation especially the impact it had on the structure of the state, and as a reflection of the path of democratic transformation and the Arab Spring. Researching the sociological behavior of the Arab state and the outcomes of public policies in it, and revealing what its relationship is to the production of extremism in Arab countries, as well as the nature of the relationship of the governance model to extremism.
It became clear to us through research and analysis that the Arab world does not have a historical, political and cultural inheritance for the concept of state and citizenship. The Arab countries that accompanied it since its inception, and thus the outcomes of public policies in the Arab countries were characterized by their weakness and inability to solve the problems of society, and thus fueled extremism and worked to increase it and established its existence and institutionalization of its organizations.
Introduction:
The sudden global changes towards the transition from authoritarian regimes to democratic regimes in many regions and at different times posed challenges at the theorizing level in the field of politics, as the political transformation and the experiences of states in it presented new, unconventional interactions between internal and external variables and the driving forces for democratic transformation, as well as It presented new, special relations, such as the relationship of political, social and economic change. The experiences of the transitional stages also revealed new mechanisms for making large-scale transformations towards democracy at the global level. The globalization of democracy or the global democratic revolution. The process of democratization does not happen merely because of the desire for change. An appropriate environment or objective conditions must be available to push it towards it, in order to avoid the negative effects of maintaining the status quo in this context.
The preoccupation of political and intellectual parties and currents in the Arab world especially the Arab republics – in the second half of the last century was the central collective challenges facing the Arab nation, which are represented in liberation, unity and socialism, in addition to the problem of extremism that the Arab countries directly suffered, These parties did not work on the issue of the state and democracy in government, nor on the issue of citizenship, and these issues remained absent or marginalized at the level of national and national concerns, and the violent situation that characterized many Arab countries continued.
With the beginning of the first decade of the twenty-first century, the issue of democracy became a central issue in Arab change propositions, after nationalist and unitary discourses were dominating the Arab arena, due to internal and external reasons. They also bet on socialism at the beginning of the last decade, conferences, seminars, and workshops began, and there was a clear activity in discussing the issue of the state and democracy in many literatures, studies, reports and meetings that focused mostly on the problems of the Arab world and the reform process and development, but these efforts did not lead to finding solutions. These problems are real, and the Arab countries continue to suffer from a state of polarization and the growing phenomenon of extremism.
The preoccupation of the political and intellectual parties and currents in the Arab world – especially the Arab republics – in the second half of the last century was the central collective challenges facing the Arab nation, which are represented in liberation, unity and socialism, and these parties did not work on the issue of the state and democracy in governance or on the issue of citizenship, these issues remained absent or marginalized at the level of national and national concerns)[1].
With the beginning of the first decade of the twenty-first century, the issue of democracy became a central issue in Arab change propositions, after nationalist and unitary discourses were dominating the Arab arena, due to internal and external reasons They also bet on socialism. At the beginning of the last decade, conferences, seminars, and workshops began, and there was a clear activity in discussing the issue of the state and democracy in many books, studies, reports and meetings that focused mostly on the problems of the Arab world and the reform process and development[2].
Problem statement:
The democratic transition in the Arab world; A central issue at all levels, especially as it remained impervious to the democratic tide, which prompted many foreign countries to put pressure on Arab countries to impose a democratic system different from Arab culture and thought, and thus; Modeling Arab systems on the basis of Western premises and principles rejected by Arab peoples, who want change to occur from within Arab culture.
The Arab countries have come a long way towards the consolidation of democracy, so have the Arab countries been able to achieve the democratic transition? And any problems faced by the Arab countries?
Determinants of a democratic transition
The Arab democratic experience demonstrates its inability to absorb the democratic issue in the Arab reality, at the authoritarian and societal levels, and as (George Tarabishi) says in his book (Heretics on Democracy, Secularism, Modernity and Arab Resilience) the responsibility rests with governments and subjects, as governments derive their strength from the authority granted to them. Which came mostly through military coups that were based on tribalism and fanaticism, so it is one of the failures of the democratic experiment, and the people play a major role in the democratic transition through their culture and customs. The people’s awareness is the social carrier of democracy. This heritage is limited to the concepts of religious caliphate, sultanate rulings, and owned models. In the cultural and political realities, there is something that works to consolidate these concepts and reproduce them in different ways and tools. Democracy is not the savior without cost or time. It is a seed before it becomes a fruit[3].
For example, academics intellectuals and researchers in politics, culture, society, and economy between the years (2002-2005) in cooperation with the United Nations, issued development reports which decided that the Arab human development crisis is summed up in three shortcomings: lack of freedom, lack of knowledge, and lack of empowerment of women[4].
The Arab reality in the Arab republics still suffers from the fragility of its political and cultural interactions and the weakness of its actors, which restricts its ability to advance and democratic development. The Arab world has entered the path of modernization without real modernity. And taking civilization without access to its meaning, culture, identities, tools, connotations, and expressions in civil society and its institutions. So, the democratic impasse in the Arab world is reproducing itself, as we find that there are several main determinants that have prevented the democratic transition in the Arab countries.
The first factor is related to the establishment of the state and the conditions for its formation. The Arab state emerged either through military coups or on tribal and clan backgrounds. This state was characterized by authoritarianism, tyranny, domination of resources, marginalization of society, obstruction of its growth and modernization, and the dedication of rent and patriarchy in dealing with it. Some of the manifestations of democracy practiced by states Arab elections, like typical elections, cannot establish the legitimacy of the state and order. Rehabilitating the state, respecting the law, separating powers, ensuring individual and public freedoms, and achieving equality among citizens are the main determinants necessary to establish a democratic transition in the Arab world.[5].
The second factor it is the slowness in enabling democracy and the democratic transition process to varying degrees in the countries of the Arab world, which is represented in the inability to develop economically, socially and culturally in Arab societies, and weak political and social awareness, as the ability to access information sources is limited and restricted, and the people do not know their rights and interests It exercises limited freedom coupled with economic and social pressures. As indicated by the Arab Human Development Reports, the lack of knowledge and the lack of development leads to a lack of freedom or empowerment of freedom, and thus a lack of empowerment in democracy[6].The Arab countries still have not gone far towards the state, citizenship, basic freedoms and social integration, and the developments that follow in the cultural, developmental and economic fields.
Despite the Arab experience in the process of democratic transition, there are Arab countries that have made strides in this process, and as Arawi sees that the Maghreb countries have advanced in the process of democratic transition, for example, we find that Tunisia is close to being formed as a modern state on the European way and can bring about the required fusion between Society and the state, which was delayed. As for the Kingdom of Morocco, since its independence, it has worked to build a state of institutions in the fifties, and this stage was called the stage of freedom and sovereignty. The basic pillars of a modern state at the legal level through the legal texts and phenomena regulating elections in addition to establishing the constitution and texts on freedoms and at the applied level through the activation of collective councils in 1961 and the legislative elections in 1963, which produced the parliamentary institution and thus completed the constitutional, judicial and administrative structure in Morocco[7].
Based on international experiences, the presence of countries with a low economic and social level did not prevent them from practicing the democratic process and the transfer of power, such as: (Pakistan and India). However, the experience shows that a high level of development guarantees real political participation and dedication to effective democracy. They are more able to realize their interests and defend their freedoms and rights, but the Arab individual often lives in pursuit of securing his living necessities, and his democracy is subject to political authority, financial authority or tribal authority. As for the third factor, it revolves around Societal and cultural structures that impede the real democratic transformation in the Arab world, where these structures prevailing in the Arab countries are characterized as traditional structures, that is, they depend on the relations of tribe, clan, family, sect, doctrine, and ethnic origin, and belong to religious, sectarian, clan and identity references, and this type of relationship It works to dismantle society and impedes societal integration in Arab countries, and gives regimes legitimacy and makes them a guarantor of security and stability, knowing that one of the most important functions of the state is to achieve social integration among citizens, by consolidating the values of citizenship and equality before the law, and formulating a comprehensive national identity[8].
As for the fourth factor: it is regional and international interference, which is represented by regional interference and international pressure. Israel, by occupying Arab lands with the absolute support of America, and the invasion of the United States of America to Iraq, which has always called for the spread of democracy in the Arab world, and Iranian interference in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, contributed to impeding Democracy in the popular circles, and suspicions were raised around it, which reinforced the tendency of authoritarianism, and denied freedoms in the Arab countries, because these regimes made the Arab-Israeli conflict a priority over issues of political, economic and social development[9].
We conclude from the above that democracy is not just a slogan, but rather it is a continuous process resulting from all the political, economic, social and cultural developments in the country. It is controlled. Without free individuals and transparent and fair democratic processes, democracy cannot be established in the Arab reality. However, despite all that is taken on these formal democratic practices, there is no doubt that they are a necessary beginning to engage in and enter into the democratic experiment, because there is no full democracy, and because democracy is a process that must be learned by practice, until it turns into a popular culture[10].
And because the Arab Spring was an attempt at democratic transformation, as the revolutionaries claimed, the issue of the Arab Spring will be discussed in terms of its causes and repercussions on the Arab situation, and the (sociological) behavior of the Arab state will be discussed.
The Arab Spring: Its Causes and Implications for the Arab Situation (Impact on the Structure of the State)
After the collapse of the central state in the Arab republics, this state was no longer the only actor at the internal level or at the external level, so new actors appeared (Non nation state actors), such as armed militias, terrorist groups, and regional, sectarian, and sectarian forces. These actors formed an army parallel to the state army and worked to create stability in the region and the region, which helped these groups control some geographical areas and became outside the control of the central state. These conflicts in the Arab countries have been affected by the nature of the international, regional and local order, and the most important actors outside the state, and they have a great influence on the nature of transformations and events in the region, such as the United States of America, Russia, Britain, France and Iran, and thus jihadist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS continued to support the opposition forces in the countries. Arab countries to devote them to serving their goals in the competitive war at the regional and international levels, which increased divisions and conflicts within a single state with internal and external interactions[11].
In the year 2010 AD, the Arab Spring began sweeping the Arab countries, and the beginning was in Tunisia, then Egypt, then Libya, then Yemen, and then Syria. Poverty, the decline in the level of per capita income and the lack of political freedoms, in addition to the repression practiced by authoritarian regimes for many years, and the technological openness that represented in social networking sites and the ability that accompanied this with the possibility of large popular mobilization in record times helped lead to the spread of protests. In the Arab countries quickly, all these variables that led to the revolution were driven and organized by the external interventions of the great powers competing for influence in the Arab world. The results of these revolutions were not identical. In Tunisia, after the fall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Moncef Marzouki, who is close to America, France and Qatar, took over the reins of power, and the government was formed with an Islamic majority of the Ennahda Party supported by Qatar.
Even the Tunisian thinker (Hisham Djait) He said: “The Ennahda movement is Qatar’s party in Tunisia, and in the course of events, the Tunisian revolution succeeded in putting the country on the path of democratic transformation to some extent, despite the UAE’s support for the leaders of the old regime to overthrow the political Islam system led by the ruling Ennahda movement affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. (The Ennahda movement is Qatar’s party in Tunisia, and in the course of events, the Tunisian revolution succeeded in putting the country on the path of democratic transformation to some extent, despite the UAE’s support for the leaders of the old regime to overthrow the political Islam system led by the ruling Ennahda movement affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Ennahda movement is Qatar’s party in Tunisia, and in the course of events, the Tunisian revolution succeeded in putting the country on the path of democratic transformation to some extent, despite the UAE’s support for the leaders of the old regime to overthrow the political Islam system led by the ruling Ennahda movement affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood[12].
In Egypt, the revolution was confronted with a semi-military coup. As for Libya, Yemen, and Syria, they entered into armed conflicts, most of which were proxy wars for regional and international parties. Qatar took a position in support of these revolutions, while Saudi Arabia was afraid of them and reservations about their course, and there is no doubt that these revolutions resulted in It created a new regional order and re-formed the alliances of local forces and their relations with regional and international powers, which had major interventions in countries such as: (Yemen, Libya and Syria). These regional and international countries did not leave the parties to arrange their internal affairs and reach solutions that satisfy all parties. To sow chaos, fuel conflicts and give one party the opportunity to seize power at the expense of the other, so the revolutions’ compass has been diverted from their goals and objectives. As for Libya, Egypt and the UAE directed their support to the Dignity Forces led by Major General (Khalifa Haftar) against the Shura Councils, which represent political Islam movements backed by Turkey and Qatar. tribal[13].
As for Syria, the external parties intervened and supported the forces opposing the Syrian regime to rid Syria of Iranian domination and restore the regional balance in favor of the Arabs, which resulted in Syria being drawn into a civil war that led to great destruction and hundreds of thousands of casualties. The Syrian state turned into a regional and international conflict arena to achieve Gains and influence. In Egypt, Saudi, Emirati and European foreign support led to the overthrow of the regime of former President (Mohamed Morsi), the representative of political Islam and supported by Qatar, and the army took control and Sisi took over the head of the political system. Egypt still suffers from political failure, suppression of freedoms and a decline in freedoms. The standard of living of the population and the continuation of the conflict with armed organizations in the Sinai Peninsula to this day. As for Yemen, the Yemeni revolution has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis and left more than eight million people in need of rapid humanitarian aid to protect them from the risk of death from starvation. Yemen has suffered for years many of the fragility in building the state due to the concentration of tribal and sectarian influence in it[14].
Countries such as: (Jordan, Morocco, the Gulf states, Mauritania and Sudan) feared protests would reach their countries at any moment, so they began to take measures and measures that would absorb the stage, take lessons and prevent any protests. Jordan King Abdullah Bin Al Hussein offered the Islamists to enter the political process and participate in the Jordanian government, but the Islamists are still reluctant to take this step[15].
We see that the Arab national state has faced and continues to face since its independence in the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century great challenges that threaten its existence, independence, unity, social fabric and civil peace in it. He renewed the state and its institutions. Militias, organizations and jihadist groups emerged in many Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya, such as ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, the Houthi militia, al-Qaeda and others, which worked for many years to impose their hegemony on some areas within the state and established their own ideology and political, legal and economic system. In some cases, it even became a state within a state, which led to a state of polarization and continuous and armed conflict, in addition to civil wars between the state and these illegal actors, which led to the deterioration of the economic and security situation. And humanitarian, and the destruction of the infrastructure of these countries, especially with the increasing refugee crisis.
The Arab nation-state also faced the challenge of maintaining its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity after being subjected to fragmentation from within by groups and organizations formed on ethnic, sectarian and sectarian bases, and the increase of external interventions to try to divide it and achieve the goals of external actors with control and hegemony, with the increase in international and regional competition for influence. In the Arab world through regional and international actors. In Iraq, a state of sectarian conflict and regional and international interventions arose through its arms operating within the State of Iraq, especially after the fall of Iraq in 2003 AD[16].
We note that Syria has been divided according to areas of influence and control based on the interests of regional actors such as Iran, Russia, Turkey, America and jihadist groups such as ISIS. To a political solution and the unification of the Libyan state at the level of government, the army, and institutions, as well as the increasing role of external players in charting the paths and interactions within the Arab countries. A struggle over the interests and influence of regional powers such as: (Iran and Turkey) and international powers such as: (the United States, Russia, Britain and China), which led to the exacerbation and prolongation of divisions within the Arab state, as well as the loss of their independence and sovereignty.
The Arab republics have suffered from the weakness of the state’s control, the fragility of its political and social structure, and the crisis of national integration among the components of the Arab society, which is characterized by ethnic, religious, linguistic and sectarian diversity, in light of the increase in armed conflicts and the impact of external interference. The spirit of hatred and revenge increased and regional and regional tendencies emerged at the expense of the national inclination of the nation and the state. The Arab countries were also challenged to confront the violence practiced by extremist organizations and groups, which used religion to serve their political goals and agenda that is based on the goal of overthrowing the state by undermining its structure and diverting it from carrying out its functions. which it was created for, and striking its security and economic institutions and limiting their growth, development and renaissance. The state has the tasks of preserving itself from collapse, strengthening its legitimate national security, political, economic and administrative institutions, adhering to its sovereignty and national unity and consecrating democracy based on the principle of citizenship so that everyone is equal in rights and duties away from any ethnic, sectarian or linguistic differences, and to achieve justice and ensure the coexistence of society Within a national project, all spectrums of society cooperate for development, in addition to striving for progress and stability, and to elevate national identity at the expense of other sub-identities and affiliations[17].
Hence, we note that when addressing the topic of democracy in Arab political systems and the extent to which it is related to violence, it is necessary to analyze this phenomenon in a way that answers the questions of the present, meaning, why do we see that the phenomenon of extremism in the Arab world is expanding instead of declining, so the Arab world that has been dominated by the phenomenon of extremism In the seventies, the illiteracy rate was more than (70%)[18]In light of the tremendous scientific development, and the accumulation of certificates and degrees holders or even in the use of technology and (social media) but this phenomenon is still controlling it, and this is what social studies indicate in this regard, so this is an incomprehensible case, the logical social transformation of civilization It was not accompanied by weakening the uncivilized behavior represented by extremism and violence, and to probe the secrets of this syndrome, we find that we need a deeper analysis of the phenomenon by linking the particles of civilized interaction with each other on the one hand, and the behavior and values of the Arab state on the other hand.
The sociological behavior of the Arab state
With regard to the situation in the Arab world, in particular, a good number of researchers in sociology and economics, and even in other scientific disciplines and other intellectual fields, go to give precedence to the political mechanism (in the broad sociological concept of politics) over the economic and cultural mechanism in explaining the conditions of societies Arabic as part of the Third World Societies System. This perception is justified by the fact that the double underdevelopment that these societies suffer is not due to social-class differences, nor to the cultural-ideological factor, but rather to the modalities and forms of distribution of power and social influence, which in turn condition the forms of distribution of social ranks and channels of material benefit: (Economic side) as well as knowledge, values and symbols: (the cultural-ideological aspect). This is because the last two aspects are dependent, in the final analysis, on the ways in which the political mechanism in the concerned society operates.
It is important here to understand the sociological behavior of the Arab state and its relationship to the rest of the components of the civilized development of Arab societies. It is also important to answer a set of key questions, the most prominent of which are:
First: What are the outcomes of public policies? What is its relationship to extremism in the Arab world?
Second: What is the relationship of the outputs to each other and their impact in the case of extremism in the Arab world?
Third: The governance model and its relationship to extremism?
Section One: Policy Outcomes
When talking about the outcomes of the general policies of the Arab state, we find that they revolve around a set of overall outcomes, the most prominent of which are education, social justice and the adaptation of societies. It did not solve the problems of the unemployed and unemployment, which in some Arab countries exceeds (48%) among degree holders[19].
The graph below shows citizens’ assessment of governments’ performance in terms of economic policies.
Source: directions Arab public opinion towards public policies in the Arab countries, Arab Politics Magazine, Public Opinion Survey Unit: The Arab Index, Issue 42, January 0202, p. 169.
As for social justice, although it was a slogan for all public policies in the Arab world, it also remained trapped in intellectual debate, and when examining the impact of public policies in creating and establishing social justice, we find that it separated social groups with every stage of global development that hit the state administration in The world and reflected on the Arab world, and here, for example, is not limited to the issue of privatization, which eventually led to the complete elimination of the middle class[20].
As for the adaptation of societies, we also find that the overall policies followed by the Arab state in adapting society contained many problems, or that they put forward social philosophies and visions that were unable to establish their values in societies, and these visions turned into an intellectual debate within the great society of the gap between What it should be, what the situation is or what the ruling elite wants of values.
Accordingly, we will discuss in the following paragraph the relationship of the outputs to each other and their impact on extremism in the Arab world.
It is important here to understand the sociological behavior of the Arab state and its relationship with the rest of the components of the civilized development of Arab societies, and it is also important that a set of key questions be answered, the most prominent of which are:
First: What are the outcomes of public policies? What is its relationship to extremism in the Arab world?
Second: What is the relationship of the outputs to each other and their impact in the case of extremism in the Arab world?
Third: The Governance Model and its Relationship to Extremism? First Paragraph:
The Relationship of Outputs to Each Other and Its Relationship to Extremism in the Arab World
The outcomes and behaviors of public policies in the Arab republics were not able to produce tolerant societies, or societies capable of turning the phenomenon of extremism into a pariah state. A fundamental issue is the outcomes of public policies, their relationship to each other and their impact on extremism. Here we mention a set of examples of the outcomes of the public policies of the Arab state, including:
- A) The elections and their relationship to the consolidation of the democratic situation and the reduction of the areas of extremism and violence. We find that the elections in the Arab world have produced and rooted the phenomenon of extremism and violence in two forms:
The first form: the visible situation by transcending the results, as happened in Algeria, then Iraq, and most recently Palestine, all of which are rooted in extremist and violent behavior in the Arab world.
The second form: the underlying situation, which is by defining the results as they are in most of the countries of the Arab world that witnessed the Arab Spring revolutions as a reaction to the outcomes of the demo-dictatorship process, which is to make the election tool that guarantees the consolidation of democracy into a tool for stabilizing the system.
- B) Education and what governments want in terms of educational outputs. Educational systems all over the world are working to bring about social change, and to inculcate the values of progress and civilization in the citizen so that he can move them and spread to the various pillars of society and the political system, and here we find in the Arab world that education is distinguished by several aspects that can help on extremism and violence, including:
First: that education was not able to bring about a radical change in social behaviors, such as the customs of marriage and social relations. On the contrary, education is the greatest of these behaviors.
Second: Education has turned into a theoretical burden on the Arab citizen, as the curricula are brimming with the values of expression of opinion and the right to political practice, and the concepts of political participation and citizenship, but the citizen finds himself unable to practice his thoughts.
Third: Education in our Arab world is not a tool for total change, but can only be a tool for career sustenance. Most of those who control the reins of government and run politics are not educated, or at the very least, science did not have the legitimacy of their presence in power.
Fourth: There is a state of schizophrenia between curricula and educational behavior, as curricula are Western and have high democratic values, and educational systems are Arab that emulate Arab systems in their behavior and nature.
All of these policies generated problems in the Arab state. The policies were not able to solve the issues of social integration in the Arab world, nor could they work to fuse societal structures into each other. On the contrary, we find that the policies increased the severity of social and class distinctions within the same society[21].
Societies in which multiple races and ethnicities, whether religious or national, predominate, have reinforced the policies of their states of cohesion and differentiation of these ethnicities and races at the expense of the strength of the feeling of general citizenship for individuals, and this led to a greater crisis, which is the identity crisis among individuals[22].
It is worth mentioning that a group of Arab countries carried out fundamental reforms and adopted public policies in the field of education in order to combat extremism and terrorism. The complete Qur’an, before passing on to the forensic and linguistic sciences at another stage. This education is found in a few public institutions, but most of its institutions are funded by private individuals, and throughout history this education has been one of the bastions of the dissemination of moderate religious thought. However, some of these private individuals, whether individuals or associations, have internal or external stimuli, and extraneous doctrinal and doctrinal orientations. In the last four decades, they have been exploiting this education for purposes liable to breed extremism.
To meet this need, and in order to ensure sound religious education, the Commander of the Faithful ordered the organization of religious education in a manner that responds to what is required and preserves its privacy, and enables its pioneers to build bridges with public education thanks to receiving modern sciences in a way that qualifies them to pass exams leading to various professional and academic disciplines. Private schools have joined this reform, and one of the effects of its implementation is that these schools receive financial support from the state budget, including grants for students, rewards for educational and administrative staff, and other means such as shelters, restaurants and libraries[23].
But in most cases, the government’s policies were not able to extend to the parties in the geographical area of the Arab state, and here the Arab state lost the policies of government penetration in remote and remote areas to the extent that the Arab state is the central city state or (the capital state). The capital seems to be something completely different from the rest of the regions. The state, whether in terms of development, cultural or even social behaviors.
This situation generated extremism and was a cause for it in the Arab world as a result of several reasons, the most prominent of which are:
First: The permanent and continuous displacement from the countryside and governorates towards the capital, and the consequent social, psychological, economic and moral problems.
Second: The rapid and programmed class change from the state generates a feeling of extremism as a result of the citizens’ belief that the Arab state is the one who makes classes, whether economic or social.
Third: The feeling of the parties in the absence of the state and their lack of belief that the state exercises over them only the authority to control, and the absence of development in the periphery generates groups that adopt violence and extremism.
Fourth: External parties exploiting cases of weakness in policies and using them to serve external interests by supporting extremism. Here, we find that neighboring countries always exploit the separatist movements in the parties and support them against the authority of the state, and external states always exploit the state’s inability to achieve political stability, or the weakness of the state.
Social integration policies aim to achieve social integration, and even class struggles to ignite internal strife and employ them in different ways, sometimes with revolutions, sometimes by provoking social unrest, and at other times by political and social distraction by supporting marginalized groups, and diverting the source of their struggle with the authority on their role in a separatist manner as if it is not composed of components of society.
The analysis of the factors of extremism in the Arab world, despite its complexity and the diversity of its causes, leads to the fact that extremism and the practice of violence are based on various intellectual frameworks, whether for people or for thought. The questions that the Arab state failed to answer, this on the one hand, and on the other hand, we find that the frameworks and extremist thought came in a utopian and ideal context that provides answers to many societal questions that address the conscience, and the most common phenomenon in the Arab world is the emotional state and its label on rational, practical thinking.
Despite this, it is not possible to ignore or ignore the situation of external recruitment of violence in the Arab world as a result of several reasons that were addressed in the body of the chapter, such as the challenges faced by Arab governments, the problem of geographical neighborhood and political and economic dependency. At times, extremist groups are used to pressure governments to become more vulnerable to the external party to achieve its goals, and at other times, the state is used to pressure extremist groups to weaken them and make them more responsive to the policies of the outside party.
Conclusions
The research journey in the folds and parts of this research leads to the fact that the Arab world has not been able to achieve a real democratic transformation due to the presence of many obstacles, the most important of which are related to the structure of the Arab state. The different eras of the history of the Arab world and the building of an independent Arab state. Despite the existence and theorizing of extremist thought in our Arab world by many personalities or political parties in the Arab world, we find that there are central and important motives in maintaining and perpetuating the state of violence in the Arab world. Violence and its growth and re-formation so as to give it more control and control. Extremism and violence make the state in a state of dependence on the outside and make the extremist forces also in a state of dependence on the outside.
As for the other reason, which is difficult to show how separate it is from the first reason, it lies in the regional conflict between some Arab countries and others, where we find that some Arab countries sometimes practice policies that support extremist and separatist movements, and this is a scene that characterized many countries of the Arab world, especially the Arab republics. In their relations with each other, the scenes here are multiple. We mention, for example, but not limited to, Arab policies during the Arab Spring and the extent of their interference in policies within the Arab countries themselves. Among the most prominent examples are Arab and international interference in the Syrian issue and Arab and international interference in the Libyan issue. Also, the support of some Arab countries for separatist movements and their encouragement to practice violence against their countries cannot be ignored.
References
- Ibrahim Al-Esawy, Social Justice: From a Vague Slogan to an Audited Concept, Al-Shorouk Newspaper, Monday October 1, 2012, see the website: https://www.shorouknews.com
- Ibrahim Qalouaz, Social Movements and Dialectics of State Building and Integration in the Arab World, Jill Center for Scientific Research, Jill Journal of Political Studies and International Relations, Issue 7, October 2016, p. 113, see the website: https://2u.pw/A6xXL
- Ehsan Al-Faqih,The failure of democracies in the Arab world after the spring revolutions, Anadolu Agency, 2019, see the website: https://bit.ly/3uWS3Qa
- Ahmed Al-Tawfiq: The Moroccan experience in the field of combating terrorism, a speech at a United Nations session dedicated to the Moroccan experience in combating terrorism, September 30, 2014, see the website of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs; https://2u.pw/5oqno
- Ahmed Al-Dasser, Democratic Transition in the Maghreb Countries, see the website: https://n9.cl/57we8y
- Baqir Al-Najjar, The Arab State between Building Failures and Disruption of Integration: Ahmad Baalbaki and others, Dialectics of Social Integration and State and Nation Building in the Arab World, Arab Center for Policy Research, Beirut, 2014, pp. 49-75.
- Arab Human Development Report: Youth and Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality, United Nations Development Program Regional Office for Arab States, 2016, pp. 30-33, see the website: https://www.un.org/ar/esa/ahdr
- George Tarabishi, Heresies on Democracy, Secularism, Modernity, and Arab Resentment, first edition, Dar Al-Saqi, Beirut, 2006, pp. 13-14.
- Hassan Muhammad Al-Zein, The Arab Spring: The Last Operations of the Greater Middle East, Dar Al-Qalam Al-Jadeed, first edition, Beirut, 2013, p. 265.
- Hamad Sayed Ahmed, The Plight of the Arab National State, Al Janoubia website, 2017, see the website:https://bit.ly/3lqRvio
- Ramez Gamal Asaad, The Impact of Political Parties on the Democratic Transition in Egypt 2013-2015, Arab Democratic Center, 2014, see website: https://democraticac.de/?p=1231
- Salman Bu Noaman, Questions of the Arab Spring: Towards a Model to Restore the Renaissance of the Nation, Nama Center for Research and Studies, 2012, pp. 209-210.
- Izzat Jaradat, Arab Literacy Day, Al-Dustour Newspaper, Amman, 2020, see the website: https://bit.ly/3BthpHZ
- Mohamed Essam Laaroussi, Armed Conflicts – and the Dynamics of Geopolitical Transformations in the Middle East and North Africa, First Edition, Arab Nile Group, 2020, pp. 54-56.
- Mouzay Bilal, Citizenship Issues and the Crisis of the State in the Maghreb: Mousai Bilal and others, Identity and the question of citizenship in the Maghreb, Arab Democratic Center, Berlin, 2020, p. 28.
- Nabih El-Akoum, Unemployment in the Arab World, Al Jazeera Net, 2018:https://bit.ly/3Dr8Huj
([1])Ramez Gamal Asaad, The Impact of Political Parties on the Democratic Transition in Egypt 2013-2015, Arab Democratic Center, 2014, see website: https://democraticac.de/?p=1231
([2])George Tarabishi, Heresies on Democracy, Secularism, Modernity, and Arab Resentment, first edition, Dar Al-Saqi, Beirut, 2006, pp. 13-14.
([3])George Tarabishi, previous reference, pp. 11-14.
([4])Arab Human Development Report: Youth and Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality, United Nations Development Program Regional Office for Arab States, 2016, pp. 30-33, see the website:https://www.un.org/ar/esa/ahdr
([5])The Arab Human Development Report: Youth and Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality, previous reference.
([6])Arab Human Development Report, previous reference.
[7]Ahmed Al-Dasser, Democratic Transition in the Maghreb Countries, see the website: https://n9.cl/57we8
([8])Ibrahim Qalawaz, Social Movements and Dialectics of State Building and Integration in the Arab World, Jill Center for Scientific Research, Jill Journal of Political Studies and International Relations, Issue 7, October 2016, p. 113, see website: https://2u.pw/A6xXL
([10])Salman Bu Noaman, Questions of the Arab Spring: Towards a Model to Restore the Renaissance of the Nation, Nama Center for Research and Studies, 2012, pp. 209-210.
([11])Mohamed Essam Laaroussi, Armed Conflicts – and the Dynamics of Geopolitical Transformations in the Middle East and North Africa, First Edition, Arab Nile Group, 2020, pp. 54-56.
([12])Hassan Muhammad Al-Zein, The Arab Spring: The Last Operations of the Greater Middle East, Dar Al-Qalam Al-Jadeed, first edition, Beirut, 2013, p. 265.
([13])Ihsan al-Faqih, The Failure of Democracies in the Arab World after the Spring Revolutions, Anadolu Agency, 2019, see the website: https://bit.ly/3uWS3Qa
([14])Ihsan al-Faqih, previous reference.
([15])Hassan Muhammad Al-Zein, previous reference, p. 266.
([16])Hamad Sayed Ahmed, The Plight of the Arab National State, Al Janoubia website, 2017, see the website:https://bit.ly/3lqRvio
[17]Miloud Amer Hajj, previous reference, pp. 60-64.
([18])Izzat Jaradat, Arab Literacy Day, Al-Dustour Newspaper, Amman, 2020, see the website: https://bit.ly/3BthpHZ
([19])Nabih El-Akoum, Unemployment in the Arab World, Al Jazeera Net, 2018:https://bit.ly/3Dr8Huj
([20]) Ibrahim Al-Esawy, Social Justice: From a Vague Slogan to an Audited Concept, Al-Shorouk Newspaper, Monday October 1, 2012, see the website:
https://www.shorouknews.com
([21])For more see: Baqir Al-Najjar, The Arab State between Building Failures and Interruption of Integration: Ahmad Baalbaki and others, Dialectics of Social Integration and State and Nation Building in the Arab World, Arab Center for Policy Research, Beirut, 2014, pp. 49-75.
([22])Mouzay Bilal, Citizenship Issues and the Crisis of the State in the Maghreb: Mousai Bilal and others, Identity and the question of citizenship in the Maghreb, Arab Democratic Center, Berlin, 2020, p. 28.
[23]Ahmed Al-Tawfiq: The Moroccan experience in the field of combating terrorism, a speech at a United Nations session dedicated to the Moroccan experience in combating terrorism, September 30, 2014, see the website of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic
Affairs: https://2u.pw/5oqnohttp://habous.gov.ma/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5627&catid=138&Itemid=138
