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اليقظة العربية الثانية والمعركة من أجل التعددية
This important book is not about immediate events or policies or responses to the Arab Spring. Instead, it takes a long, judicious view of political change in the Arab world, beginning with the first Awakening in the nineteenth century and extending into future decades when—if the dream is realized—a new Arab world defined by pluralism and tolerance will emerge. Marwan Muasher, former foreign minister of Jordan, asserts that all sides—the United States, Europe, Israel, and Arab governments alike—were deeply misguided in their thinking about Arab politics and society when the turmoil of the Arab Spring erupted. He explains the causes of the unrest, tracing them back to the first Arab Awakening, and warns of the forces today that threaten the success of the Second Arab Awakening, ignited in December 2010. Hope rests with the new generation and its commitment to tolerance, diversity, the peaceful rotation of power, and inclusive economic growth, Muasher maintains. He calls on the West to rethink political Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict, and he discusses steps all parties can take to encourage positive state-building in the freshly unsettled Arab world.
229 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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103 people want to read
About the author
Marwan Muasher
2 books9 followersMarwan 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.
Muasher began his career as a journalist for the Jordan Times. He then served at the Ministry of Planning, at the prime minister’s office as press adviser, and as director of the Jordan Information Bureau in Washington.
In 1995, Muasher opened Jordan’s first embassy in Israel, and in 1996 he became minister of information and the government spokesperson. From 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington again as ambassador, negotiating the first free-trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation. He then returned to Jordan to serve as foreign minister, where he played a central role in developing the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East roadmap.
In 2004, he became deputy prime minister responsible for reform and government performance and led the effort to produce a ten-year plan for political, economic, and social reform. From 2006 to 2007, he was a member of the Jordanian Senate.
From 2007 to 2010, he was senior vice president of external affairs at the World Bank.
He is the author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation (Yale University Press, 2008) and The Second Arab Awakening and the Battle for Pluralism (Yale University Press, 2014).
http://carnegieendowment.org/experts/563
Muasher began his career as a journalist for the Jordan Times. He then served at the Ministry of Planning, at the prime minister’s office as press adviser, and as director of the Jordan Information Bureau in Washington.
In 1995, Muasher opened Jordan’s first embassy in Israel, and in 1996 he became minister of information and the government spokesperson. From 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington again as ambassador, negotiating the first free-trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation. He then returned to Jordan to serve as foreign minister, where he played a central role in developing the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East roadmap.
In 2004, he became deputy prime minister responsible for reform and government performance and led the effort to produce a ten-year plan for political, economic, and social reform. From 2006 to 2007, he was a member of the Jordanian Senate.
From 2007 to 2010, he was senior vice president of external affairs at the World Bank.
He is the author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation (Yale University Press, 2008) and The Second Arab Awakening and the Battle for Pluralism (Yale University Press, 2014).
http://carnegieendowment.org/experts/563
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 9, 2019
Marwarn Muasher is one of the few local experts in our region, who could understand what our generations struggled with in the Arab Spring and put it in a very thoughtful way in this book. I am glad that I had the chance of knowing him and reading his book.
September 7, 2018
The Evolution of Jordan's Peripheral Man in the Middle
Having just finished Muasher's previous book it was interesting to see much how his ideas had evolved in just two weeks. ;-) Muasher, who's progressive ideas for political enfranchisement and reform were rejected by Jordan's entrenched interests, is now a political outsider in Jordan, having retreated to the Carnegie Endowment Foundation in Washington DC to develop his ideas, though I have it on good authority that he intends to return and create his own political party.
He still retains blind spots, but overall the vision has improved. Conventional wisdom has it that Arab regimes in the Muddled East are locked in a see-saw battle between a duopoly of corrupt authoritarian military regimes and repressive Islamic theocracies, neither of which trusts the other with power, and rightly so. He finds both political estates are dominated by personality cults and slogans rather than coherent programs. A realist, he sees the need to gradually promote a more pluralistic social contract where the rights of minorities and women are enshrined in practice and in law. Encouraging critical thinking vs. rote learning in the schools is an important pillar as is political tolerance of different points of view - he notes that where the Arab Spring has broken long term dictatorships, too many political parties emerged, most tending towards elitist theorizing, with fractured support for any one. The same phenomenon occurred during in the history of France and more recently Spain followed by consolidation, and he hopes the same will happen here.
Muasher is still looking for a comprehensive resolution to the problem of Palestine, which contradicts his appeal for gradualism in the rest of the Arab world. He confirms that Palestinian governance is a political hot potato that neither Israel nor the Arab states wishes to take on and maintains his belief that the Saudi led Arab Peace Proposal would disarm Hamas and Hezbollah converting them in to pluralistic political organizations. So far that approach hasn't been successful in Lebanon. He believes that the Arab States could somehow guarantee Israel's security - at a time that they have difficulty in maintaining their own.
Its a good book for he understands the roadblocks to democracy are the rigid Salafists on one hand and the crippling effect of rentier economies where governments can treat their citizens as children doling out favours - he amusingly quips that there is no representation without taxation. (pp19). The disdain of youth movements for personality cults has exacerbated their lack of experience with a lack of leadership. Particularly helpful was his summary of different Islamic movements in chapter 3 and the country by country summary of recent political change in chapter 4, keeping in mind that though published in 2014, the book went to press just before the fall of the Morsi government in Egypt.
Recommended.
Having just finished Muasher's previous book it was interesting to see much how his ideas had evolved in just two weeks. ;-) Muasher, who's progressive ideas for political enfranchisement and reform were rejected by Jordan's entrenched interests, is now a political outsider in Jordan, having retreated to the Carnegie Endowment Foundation in Washington DC to develop his ideas, though I have it on good authority that he intends to return and create his own political party.
He still retains blind spots, but overall the vision has improved. Conventional wisdom has it that Arab regimes in the Muddled East are locked in a see-saw battle between a duopoly of corrupt authoritarian military regimes and repressive Islamic theocracies, neither of which trusts the other with power, and rightly so. He finds both political estates are dominated by personality cults and slogans rather than coherent programs. A realist, he sees the need to gradually promote a more pluralistic social contract where the rights of minorities and women are enshrined in practice and in law. Encouraging critical thinking vs. rote learning in the schools is an important pillar as is political tolerance of different points of view - he notes that where the Arab Spring has broken long term dictatorships, too many political parties emerged, most tending towards elitist theorizing, with fractured support for any one. The same phenomenon occurred during in the history of France and more recently Spain followed by consolidation, and he hopes the same will happen here.
Muasher is still looking for a comprehensive resolution to the problem of Palestine, which contradicts his appeal for gradualism in the rest of the Arab world. He confirms that Palestinian governance is a political hot potato that neither Israel nor the Arab states wishes to take on and maintains his belief that the Saudi led Arab Peace Proposal would disarm Hamas and Hezbollah converting them in to pluralistic political organizations. So far that approach hasn't been successful in Lebanon. He believes that the Arab States could somehow guarantee Israel's security - at a time that they have difficulty in maintaining their own.
Its a good book for he understands the roadblocks to democracy are the rigid Salafists on one hand and the crippling effect of rentier economies where governments can treat their citizens as children doling out favours - he amusingly quips that there is no representation without taxation. (pp19). The disdain of youth movements for personality cults has exacerbated their lack of experience with a lack of leadership. Particularly helpful was his summary of different Islamic movements in chapter 3 and the country by country summary of recent political change in chapter 4, keeping in mind that though published in 2014, the book went to press just before the fall of the Morsi government in Egypt.
Recommended.
July 23, 2017
Nothing new here. This book is intended for a largely uninformed Western audience. The author considers the Arab spring as a second wave of a pan Arab Awakening that first occurred in the 1950's.
February 16, 2017
Mr. Muasher's book was the only book I read after the Arab uprisings that actually made me feel optimistic about the region's future. I highly recommend it. Not only does he do a great job in analyzing the roots of destabilization in the region, whether it's authoritarianism or lack of economic visions and plans, but he also prescribes something of a roadmap of where reforms need to take place. Time alone won't fix things. His observations about the need to develop educational systems that help students think critically are spot on, and he offers a critical discussion on the need to embed values of pluralism in social and political systems in the region.
January 31, 2017
Pluralism can best be defined as the fundamental commitment to political diversity at all times. It means that no party has a monopoly on the truth and no party can impose its views on the rest of society.
Does that sound like a fair statement about the Middle East or north Africa? No. Marwan Muasher and I would agree with you. Not even Israel, which pretends to be a democracy can claim pluralism because it fails to treat its Arab citizens equally, let alone treat the Palestinians fairly. Muasher writes clearly and provides evidence and citations for his claims. He is very well placed to write a comment on the political situation in the Arab world, having deputy prime minister in Jordan and represented Jordan in peace talks with Israel.
Respect for diversity is not an innate characteristic. Humans have a well-developed sense of “us” and “them”… Appreciating differences is a taught behavior… respect for diversity is glaringly lacking in Arab educational systems.
I took a long time to read this book because I’m not a scholar about the Arab world but it does interest me, so I persisted and it was rewarding. Our library in Trondheim had the book on display and that’s how I found out about it.
Muasher provides a framework to understand the so-called 2nd Arab spring of 2011 when 100s of 1000s of people took to the streets across the Arab world in protest against repressive dictatorships and monarchies. He explains why all of these attempted uprisings failed and blames a lack of pluralism.
I posted a review of the book on my blog: https://strivetoengage.wordpress.com/...
Does that sound like a fair statement about the Middle East or north Africa? No. Marwan Muasher and I would agree with you. Not even Israel, which pretends to be a democracy can claim pluralism because it fails to treat its Arab citizens equally, let alone treat the Palestinians fairly. Muasher writes clearly and provides evidence and citations for his claims. He is very well placed to write a comment on the political situation in the Arab world, having deputy prime minister in Jordan and represented Jordan in peace talks with Israel.
Respect for diversity is not an innate characteristic. Humans have a well-developed sense of “us” and “them”… Appreciating differences is a taught behavior… respect for diversity is glaringly lacking in Arab educational systems.
I took a long time to read this book because I’m not a scholar about the Arab world but it does interest me, so I persisted and it was rewarding. Our library in Trondheim had the book on display and that’s how I found out about it.
Muasher provides a framework to understand the so-called 2nd Arab spring of 2011 when 100s of 1000s of people took to the streets across the Arab world in protest against repressive dictatorships and monarchies. He explains why all of these attempted uprisings failed and blames a lack of pluralism.
I posted a review of the book on my blog: https://strivetoengage.wordpress.com/...
July 11, 2015
This book has a different approach from the current gloomy analysis of the Arab spring literature. The author does not delve immediately into the analysis of the Arab Spring, and the outcomes. Instead, he takes a long, informative analysis of the causes of the uprisings, tracing them back to the First Awakening in the nineteenth century. He then discusses the forces and challenges that threaten the success of the second Arab Awakening which erupted in 2011. He devotes his book entirely for the idea of pluralism, defined as the “fundamental commitment to political diversity at all times” For the Arab Spring to be successful, he marks that all political groups need to acknowledge that they can not impose their views on society. Only when political spheres accept diversity and elected leaders work together, they can build societies they aspire to.
I found myself agreeing with Muasher for the need of a thorough reform in Arab educational systems, which instills uncritical rote learning. He dedicates chapter 5 for educational reform, and the importance of teaching respect for differences in the rich diverse culture of the Arab world.
The book is often criticised as wishful thinking, but i believe his optimism may inspire successful reconciliation between political groups in the future, especially in homogenous societies like Egypt.
I found myself agreeing with Muasher for the need of a thorough reform in Arab educational systems, which instills uncritical rote learning. He dedicates chapter 5 for educational reform, and the importance of teaching respect for differences in the rich diverse culture of the Arab world.
The book is often criticised as wishful thinking, but i believe his optimism may inspire successful reconciliation between political groups in the future, especially in homogenous societies like Egypt.
August 9, 2020
I am rarely that impressed with analyses of the of Arabism and the progression of its revolutionary body. Magnificently well written and highly elaborative account of the idea of Arab revolutions, their functionality and how they affected Arab populations. Muasher does justice to every single actor he analysis, from administration to opposition, socialists to islamists, kings to presidents, everyone who played a role in how the region came to look like nowadays is mentioned in sufficient details according the roles they played.
I strongly recommend this to anyone confused about the identity of Arab revolutions.
I strongly recommend this to anyone confused about the identity of Arab revolutions.
November 2, 2015
This is a great read that offers a nuanced view on politics in the Middle East, a condensed history of current and past Arab uprisings, and an informative survey of the causes and outcomes of the Arab Spring. Muasher makes a strong case for pluralism in Arab societies as an absolute requirement for building successful democracies that guarantee the rights of both secular and Islamist groups.
May 4, 2014
Poorly challenging .. a bit informing but never based on in-depth field work or comprehensive theory-approach.. It's more like essays collected in a book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews