Conclusion

Abstract

Redemption from the “original sin,” that is Arab state weakness/failure, requires first a recognition of the problem. Old approaches by the EU and the United States have not worked and therefore should only be incorporated within the overall approach of state-building. State-building would basically involve re-building bureaucracies in order to have a state that is enforcing law, providing services appropriately, and managing the state resources by an efficient bureaucracy, which is the redemption we propose for the Arab world. The role of the US cannot be overlooked even if it appears as though it is withdrawing from the Middle East to more pressing strategic interests in the Far East. We proposed restoring America’s leadership to help re-building the Arab state. This restoration, in turn, requires a reform in the US decision-making to prevent a repetition of the mistakes of the last several years of American mismanagement of the region.