Hosted by Faisal Al Yafai
Featuring Fawaz Gerges
Produced by Finbar Anderson
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The Middle East, argues the veteran author and academic Fawaz Gerges, defies the simplistic explanations of complex regional issues that often gain popularity and traction. “Neat explanations tend to really ignore and overlook the pulses that take place in the region,” he tells New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai on The Lede.
In his new book, “The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East,” Gerges sets out his formula for better understanding the region, in which he proposes that observers consider a combination of foreign intervention, popular movements and domestic authoritarianism.
“The future of the Middle East will not be determined by the emirs and kings and the autocrats, but by a growing population of young men and women demanding to be treated as citizens.”
The latter factor, Gerges says, is running out of steam. “The reason why there is so much fear of the public in the Middle East – including Iran and including Turkey, not just the Arab world – is the lack of legitimacy, the lack of hegemony. Most of the leaders in the region not only lack legitimacy, they’re running on empty. They’re relying mostly on coercion as opposed to persuasion.”
Al Yafai questions Gerges’ assertion that authoritarianism prevails thanks to its symbiotic relationship with foreign intervention, given the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria, which was brought about in no small part through the support of the Turkish government.
“Yes, Turkey played a role in the downfall of Assad in December 2024, but it was not the decisive factor,” Gerges counters. “The decisive factor was the waning relationship between Bashar Al Assad and his external stakeholders, in particular Russia and Iran.”
While in his latest book Gerges makes a passionate defense of the agency of the people, that is not to say he believes their leaders should be forgotten. Indeed, he and Al Yafai consider the complex legacies of some of the region’s major personalities, such as Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, as covered in some of Gerges’ previous works, including “Making the Arab World,” and “What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East.”
The clash between political Islam and Arab nationalists “was not about ideology,” Gerges says. “It was mainly about politics, about power, who should control the state. … It has been portrayed as an ideological, philosophical clash, and it has done a great deal of damage to Middle Eastern societies because it has prevented any kind of healthy politics.”
Gerges maintains that the agency of the region’s people has been underplayed in scholarship, and that it will ultimately be the decisive factor in the region’s future. “The future of the Middle East will not be determined by the emirs and kings and the autocrats, but by a growing population of young men and women demanding to be treated as citizens.”