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Arab Protesters Turn Away From the Tribe and Toward Nationalism

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01.29.2020 at 05:06am

Arab Protesters Turn Away From the Tribe and Toward Nationalism by Benny Avni – Wall Street Journal

The Egyptian diplomat Tahseen Bashir disdained Arab countries, notably excepting his own, as “tribes with flags.” Bashir died in 2002, but his description is more apt than ever in a region scarred by raging sectarian feuds. Now a new cry against tribalism is increasingly heard in Lebanon, Iraq and beyond.

It’s happening because the old sectarian-based order no longer delivers the goods, if it ever did. A new Arab generation is fast losing interest in its leaders’ religion, familial ties and ability to navigate tribal politics. A growing protest movement demands more-competent national governance.

Many Lebanese, to take one example, care more about the collapse of the country’s once-flourishing banking system than about any government official’s faith. Nearly 20% of Lebanon’s under-30 generation is unemployed…

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