MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Middle Eastern countries are undergoing a test for resilience in the conditions of a lack of democracy and legitimacy of governments, said Taha Ozhan, research director at Ankara Institute.
"There are no democratic elections in the territories of some Middle Eastern countries. This too comes at a cost to the citizens of these countries, and with the overthrow of the regime of former Syrian President Bashar Assad and the genocide of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, all of this only exacerbates the problems of the Middle East. And these are consequences that will spread throughout the region," he said at the 14th Middle East Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club. "So we're talking about a stress test for the whole region."
According to the analyst, it is impossible to predict the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as it is not clear "how the Israeli problem will be resolved and what will happen to Israel in general and how the essence of the Palestinian issue will be resolved."
"Nor do we know how Syria and the Syrian phenomenon will be transformed and whether it can be seen as a 'black swan' and what the consequences of this situation will be," he said.
Lack of democracy
According to the analyst, the issues of legitimacy and establishment of democratic order in the Middle Eastern countries are the most pressing, as their "shortage is only intensifying. In this context, US-led Western countries benefit from sticking to the idea that "the Islamic world is not ready for democracy."
"The West keeps saying that the Islamic world is not ready for democracy, but for the past 10-15 years it has been quite obvious that the West itself is not ready for democracy in the Middle East in combination with regional players, so the solution to this problem is not yet in sight," Ozhan said.
White swans
According to the analyst, despite the general uncertainty of the future, there are critical issues that are clearer, and their outcome can be anticipated."This is an escalation of the American problem, as we see a destabilization of the security situation, of the economy, and chaos that will affect the entire region as risks," he said.Ozhan said what could improve the situation in the Middle East is a strengthening of the multipolar world, with new regional players and alliances."The ongoing deglobalization will have a decisive impact on the region and could open new niches for countries such as Russia and China, or a bloc of European countries," he said. "They will play a role if they can adapt to the new realities."