On April 17, the Tsinghua-SAIS team sat down with former Jordanian deputy prime minister Marwan Muasher. Mr. Muasher currently serves as Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Mr. Muasher began the talk by giving a 15-minute history of the modern Middle East—no small task. He discussed the emergence of an Arab identity as 400-years of Ottoman rule came to an end with the conclusion of World War 1 and the fight for Arab independence during the ensuing colonial period.
Mr. Muasher detailed both the failed authoritarianism and the persistent religious challenges to that system in the intervening years. In Muasher’s estimation, these systems have failed to yield economic growth and improvements in employment. As a result, political trust in the Arab world has long been extremely low. As an advocate for democratic reform, Muasher explained his desire to see a change in the political status quo across the Middle East—citing post-Arab Spring Tunisia as a potential roadmap.
Muasher, who described himself as a non-expert on Chinese affairs, did field some student questions about China’s influence in the region. He remarked that sustaining its neutral balancing act of economic cooperation without political interference would be a tall order in the future—particularly in such a politically fraught region.
We sincerely appreciate Mr. Muasher’s sharing his broad experience and future outlook for the Middle East.
Mr. Muasher began the talk by giving a 15-minute history of the modern Middle East—no small task. He discussed the emergence of an Arab identity as 400-years of Ottoman rule came to an end with the conclusion of World War 1 and the fight for Arab independence during the ensuing colonial period.
Mr. Muasher detailed both the failed authoritarianism and the persistent religious challenges to that system in the intervening years. In Muasher’s estimation, these systems have failed to yield economic growth and improvements in employment. As a result, political trust in the Arab world has long been extremely low. As an advocate for democratic reform, Muasher explained his desire to see a change in the political status quo across the Middle East—citing post-Arab Spring Tunisia as a potential roadmap.
Muasher, who described himself as a non-expert on Chinese affairs, did field some student questions about China’s influence in the region. He remarked that sustaining its neutral balancing act of economic cooperation without political interference would be a tall order in the future—particularly in such a politically fraught region.
We sincerely appreciate Mr. Muasher’s sharing his broad experience and future outlook for the Middle East.
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