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Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=99083
Demons that Plague the Arab World
[Daily Star-Lebanon] Rami G. Khouri - The Arab world is defined both by rampant violence (home-grown and foreign-instigated) and a deep desire to become democratic, productive, and intellectually and culturally vibrant. The legacy of security-dominated states where power is concentrated in the hands of a family or a small group of soldiers has led to two extremes: an almost total lack of indigenous production of cultural capital and intellectual knowledge, and the widespread use of violence and terror by opposition forces trying to overthrow the incumbents. Autocracy and the production of knowledge are violently contradictory. Those who hold power for decades on end do not have an interest in prompting free intellectual enquiry and free scientific research. This is why most of the best Arab journalists and researchers live abroad.