In the Arab World, Delivery Trumps Ideology

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In The Media

In the Arab World, Delivery Trumps Ideology

The Arab world is undergoing a phase in which delivery and performance is starting to trump ideology. Without socioeconomic programs that deal with the people’s issues, forces vying for power will pay the price.

By Marwan Muasher

Published on May 7, 2014

Source: Wisconsin Public Radio’s Kathleen Dunn Show

“We’re witnessing a phase in the Arab world where delivery—performance if you will—is starting to trump ideology,” said Carnegie’s Marwan Muasher on the Kathleen Dunn Show. “In other words, whether secular forces or religious forces adopt a purely ideological stance without an accompanying socioeconomic program to deal with people’s problems, these [forces] will pay the price.”

Education, Muasher argued, is one of the key areas for any country undergoing transition. If the Arab world aims to establish diverse and democratic societies that tolerates other points of views, then the educational system must be revisited, he said. Reform is a home-grown process that needs to evolve over time, Muasher contended. And while the international community can help on the margins to help the process, in the end, it will need to grow from the inside.

This interview was originally aired on the Kathleen Dunn Show.

About the Author

Marwan Muasher

Vice President for Studies

Marwan Muasher is vice president for studies at Carnegie, where he oversees research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East. Muasher served as foreign minister (2002–2004) and deputy prime minister (2004–2005) of Jordan, and his career has spanned the areas of diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications.

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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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