Arab intellectual to shed light on the course of Arab nationalism at Arab Strategy Forum

Arab author and intellectual Dr. Fouad Ajami, will be at hand at the Arab Strategy Forum 2004, to help define the correct path to future development.

"We have gathered together the most respected thinkers and experts from all streams of political thought and science to reach the root of the problems facing the Arab world. We want to understand why -- despite all its wealth in terms of resources, young and educated population and enlightened leadership -- has the Arab world not been a model of good governance nor does it carry the weight it should at international fora," said Nabil Al Yousuf, Vice Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Arab Strategy Forum.

"Dr. Fouad Ajami, thinker, author and intellectual has pondered over the issues facing the Arab world for many years. With his help, we might yet be able to define what ails our policies and how could we overcome our shortcomings to leap into a promising new future," Al Yousuf added.

Dr. Ajami, who currently is the Director for the Middle East Studies Programme at the famed John Hopkins University in the US, has won critical acclaim from fellow thinks and political scientists in the West and the Arab world for his masterful insight into Arab causes as spelt out in his thought-provoking The Dream Palace of the Arabs, The Arab Predicament and The Rude Awakening. In the last book, Dr. Ajami probed the discontent that spread with the failure of the nationalist project following Arab independence and the debacle of 1967.

Famous critic Martin Kramer says that "Fouad Ajami's authority arises not only from his combination of intelligence, knowledge, and style. It is also evidence of a continuing crisis of self-confidence in the American understanding of the Middle East."

A Voice that is Heard
He goes on to say that Ajami is one of the few Arab-American voices that are heard in America. Other voices are heard, but none count as much, for ..... Ajami come(s) from within, and claim to speak knowingly about what can be known only from within. His approachable prose will have made complex issues comprehensible. His presentation of the Arabs as people who have made choices of their own will have appealed to your sense that people decide whether they know peace or war, wax rich or grow poor."

Dr. Fouad Ajami will present his insights on the Arab world and the American society on the first day of the Arab Strategy Forum. He shall address the delegates on 'The Political Systems in the Arab World in 2020: Moving Towards Reform and Development'.

The session will discuss the current situation, which, in most Arab countries is characterised by political stagnation, increased internal instability and conflicts and partial movements towards global standards of governance and transparency as a result of greater public awareness and demand.

Dr. Fouad Ajami will join other highly respected thinkers who shall define what key factors will influence future Arab regimes, what will be the trends in governance, will political reform and development lead to genuine democracy and if, so under what conditions? Dr. Ajami's panel will discuss how Iraq's future structure will influence others in the Arab world and what role should Arab governments take?

These, and many other issues revolving around the best way towards maturity in governance and policies, will be discussed by Dr. Ajami, Al Yousuf said.