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Economic Development as a Panacea for Middle East Problems Is a Myth

(PJMedia) Barry Rubin - It make sense to the Western mind that material conditions will determine the political beliefs and loyalties of Arabs and Iranians. They just want good jobs, nice housing, and higher living standards for themselves and their children. Yet the appeals of radical ideology overcome material considerations. There are lots of people who would like their children to grow up to be suicide bombers or prefer piety to prosperity. In a Muslim Brotherhood-ruled Egypt, with Salafists engaging in anarchic violence, is U.S.-backed economic development going to make any difference? As for the Palestinian Authority, vast amounts of aid money have flowed in and despite some apparent successes - a lot of luxury apartments have been built and people kept employed in the government bureaucracy - no lasting progress has been made. A lot of the money has ended up in the political leaders' foreign bank accounts. The stories of the battle of corrupt leaders in the Palestinian Authority over awarding a mobile phone contract; how EU-financed public housing turned into luxury apartments to reward regime supporters; or the sabotage against building an improved sewer system in Gaza - even though foreign aid was paying for the whole project - are wonderful case studies in how economic development campaigns that look good in the West amount to a joke on the ground.
2012-10-30 00:00:00
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