From Kenya to Iraq, the prevalence of tribalism is a symptom of the destruction of modern state structures, weakened or absent democratic institutions, and manipulation by local and external forces.

The destruction of the modern state in Iraq, after years of a punitive blockade and an American invasion and occupation, has propelled tribalism as substitute for a coherent state. It is true that the executed President Saddam Hussein did use tribalism as an instrument, but both the British in the South and the Americans in the center of Iraq have also pursued the old colonial strategy of creating tribal clientele for the occupation.

In Kenya, where tribalism is deeply rooted and was not diminished by the modern state, disillusionment with elections fraud and with Mwai Kibaki (a man who promoted himself as the people's champion) have triggered a regression to tribal fault lines.

In Jordan, the state issued special electoral laws to undercut the power of political parties and to foster tribal affiliations to undercut the opposition. In fact, the manifestation of modern "democracy" is based on institutionalizing tribalism, ethnic differences and sectarianism --a crime a committed by both Western occupying powers and national leaders.

Continue »

The Current Discussion: In the future, global prosperity will present more of a threat than poverty, according to a recent Post op-ed. Is this just rich-American rhetoric, or is the world really getting too prosperous for its own good?

I do agree with Michael Gerson's concluding remarks that learning to live with challenges posed by growing world prosperity is better than the alternative of challenges posed by rising poverty.
However, I do not agree that the world has reached a point of a crisis of rising prosperity.

The rising billions -- if they are indeed billions -- of prosperous populations around the world do not automatically mean decreased poverty. Advanced technology and a globalized market place had allowed millions to join the ranks of the affluent classes, but it is also pushing a bigger number toward abject poverty.

Continue »