Seven Pillars: What Really Causes Instability in the Middle East?
Published By: AEI Press
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For decades, US foreign policy in the Middle East has been on autopilot: Seek Arab-Israeli peace, fight terrorism, and urge regimes to respect human rights. Every US administration puts its own spin on these initiatives, but none has successfully resolved the region’s fundamental problems.
In “Seven Pillars: What Really Causes Instability in the Middle East?” a bipartisan group of leading experts representing several academic and policy disciplines unravel the core causes of instability in the Middle East and North Africa. Why have some countries been immune to the Arab Spring? Which governments enjoy the most legitimacy and why? With more than half the region under 30 years of age, why does education and innovation lag? How do resource economies, crony capitalism, and inequality drive conflict? Are ethnic and sectarian fault lines the key factor, or are these more products of political and economic instability? And what are the wellsprings of extremism that threaten not only the United States but, more profoundly, the people of the region?
The answers to these questions should help policymakers and students of the region understand the Middle East on its own terms, rather than just through a partisan or diplomatic lens. Understanding the pillars of instability in the region can allow the United States and its allies to rethink their own priorities, adjust policy, recalibrate their programs, and finally begin to chip away at core challenges facing the Middle East.
Contents
What Really Causes Instability in the Middle East?
Danielle Pletka
What Defines Legitimacy in the Middle East and North Africa?
Michael Rubin
What Is the Role of Islam and Islamists in the Middle East?
A. Kadir Yildirim
How Are Ideologies and Cultures Changing in the Arab World?
Thanassis Cambanis
Are Middle Eastern Militaries Agents of Stability or Instability?
Florence Gaub
What Impact Does Education Have on Concepts of Citizenship?
Michael A. Fahy
What Will It Take to Repair Middle Eastern Economies?
Bilal Wahab
What Reforms Do Good Governance Require?
Brian Katulis
