Editorial
Arab Thought Foundation should make a mark The Arab world is in dire
need of solutions for a host of problems. Many of these challenges emanate from abroad,
but most are the product of our own failings. If future generations are to be spared the
burden of their predecessors’ mistakes, work must begin now to blaze new paths and
create new opportunities. The emphasis must not be on where we as a society have been, nor
on where we are, for recently all of these have been desolate spots. Instead, the goal
must be to identify a better destination for tomorrow and develop the mechanisms required
to get there.
The Arab Thought Foundation has the potential to serve as a key catalyst in any effort to
reverse the rot that has hobbled the peoples of this region for centuries, a process of
decay that has left them as vulnerable to domestic demagoguery as they are to foreign
mischief. The organization is less than two years old but is generously endowed and
imaginatively led. In addition, its conception was prescient enough to provide for its
independence from individual Arab governments. These advantages will be wasted, though,
unless a way is found to energize them.
The foundation’s chairman, Saudi Prince Khaled al-Faisal, is a man of vision. In
addition, the body has just added a powerful new weapon to its intellectual and
organizational arsenal: Ali Maher, a former Egyptian ambassador to France whose track
record is one of conspicuous achievement. Both understand the importance of reworking Arab
governance; both know that the short-term crisis facing the region demands urgent action;
and both know that a large part of repairing Arab relations with the West lies with deeper
understanding of US policy in the region and an appreciation of how and why it is
formulated.
The Arab League’s current round of dithering over the Iraq crisis is an excellent
example of how an active Arab Thought Foundation could help. The paralysis is a direct
result of Arab statecraft’s having failed to provide mechanisms for the professional
advice, useful information, and public input that make up the real substance of what is
commonly referred to as “inspired leadership.” Touted as the Arab world’s
first independent think tank, the Arab Thought Foundation is ideally suited to fill the
gaps left by faulty political structures. It could provide detailed, unbiased policy
papers to help craft joint diplomatic strategies that draw something other than derision;
it could advise on tactics to contain tensions until long-term solutions can be found; it
could conduct surveys to identify areas of public concern so that they can be addressed by
policymakers.
None of this will happen, however, unless the Arab Thought Foundation insulates itself
against the civil society version of the malady that has crippled the Arab League. It must
not get bogged down in formalities or allow its work to be contaminated by foolish
slogans. It must not be afraid to step on a few official toes or break with the
“conventional wisdom” that is almost always wrong. Above all else, it must
eschew the calamitous habit of issuing lofty declarations and then failing to follow
through. The Arab world already has more than enough political leaders who have mastered
that self-destructive art.
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