Principles and practicalities

Allison Stuewe reports from Georgetown’s Bunn Intercultural Center: 

The auditorium was crowded and the audience excited.  Despite the hype, Dennis Ross did not disappoint last Thursday speaking on “The Arab Awakening and Its Implications.”

Ross began by discussing the meaning of “awakening” as a metaphor for the revolutions in the Middle East.  “Arab Spring” connotes fleeting, rosey and easy.  “Arab Awakening,” on the other hand, implies a longer struggle, self-realization and transformation.   Participants in an Arab Awakening will behave differently in the long-term.  Awakened citizens get to make demands of those who lead them whereas subjects do not expect reciprocity.

Citizenship also entails the acceptance of a leader’s justification for holding power.  All leaders must justify their right to lead.  For a monarch, the justification is inherent to the institution, whether it comes in the form of a narrative about a blood line or a divine right to rule.  For a citizen of a state that is not a monarchy, the justification for leadership is based on an exchange of obligations.

Given the lack of any significant secular political presence outside of Mubarak’s government, it is not surprising that Islamists have come to power after the recent awakening.  Hosni Mubarak ensured that this would be true when he limited the ability of secular groups to organize politically.  Furthermore, secular groups are often viewed as elitist and have been tainted due to their perceived association with Mubarak’s failed regime.

Though Mubarak also suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood, he allowed the mosque  to be used as a place to decry the ills of society, challenge authority, and build an alternative infrastructure to assuage the hardships many Muslims face in Egypt.  When Mubarak’s regime fell, the Muslim Brotherhood, unlike any secular group, was well-positioned to fill the leadership void.

What now?  The people who have united in Egypt are aware of their rights as citizens and are still thinking about the obligations of a legitimate leader.  It is too early to determine if there will be an “Islamist Winter” simply replacing the Mubarak regime.  The Muslim Brotherhood has positioned itself as an organization that takes care of the citizens in Egypt, which means the Brotherhood has significant obligations that it must live up to if it wants to maintain its legitimacy.

As for the implications of the Arab awakening for the United States, Ross highlighted American “principles,” or the values that make up our own justification for power:  rights for minorities and women, protection of free speech, and duty to the international community.  He said that we must stick to our principles in our relations with Egypt, which stands to gain aid and support from powerful countries if it sticks to them as well.

Ross concluded with a few practical notes about Iran, Israel, and Palestine.  Dealing with the Iranian nuclear program will require bringing unrelenting pressure to bear.  He likewise emphasized practical steps for  Israel and Palestine to restore confidence in each other and foster stability in a tumultuous period.

Ross identified six steps for Israel and six for Palestine, which are described here, and an additional step for each:  both countries must socialize their children to understand each other differently.  Israeli children must have frequent positive interactions with Palestinians and Palestinian children must have positive experiences with Israelis.

“Principles” and “practicalities”, value-laden ideals and pragmatic decisions, were fundamental Ross’s presentation.  Successful political action requires a sophisticated understanding of when it is right to invoke one category and when to utilize the other.