By Dr. Amer Al Sabaileh
* In the midst of turbulent events we desperately need fast intervention, faster than the recent developments.
Generally speaking, decision making needs time to pass through the standard procedures and arrive at a determination. In our current case, considering the total chaos, maybe we don't have this time and decisions should be made rapidly to match the radical changes we are going through. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in".
The deposition of the Tunisian President has been a heartfelt victory for the population. It has restored hope for the future of the entire Arab world and has invited us to give priority on our national agendas to a comprehensive review which takes the vital need for strategic amendments into consideration.
The last speech of the deposed Tunisian dictator and the way he was begging the people to sustain him, is further proof of how the only way to legitimacy is through real participation of the people. However, this is a lesson that only the prudent and the courageous can learn from, who believe in the advice of Machiavelli in his masterpiece "The Prince", that rulers should cultivate favorable public opinion and secure the support of the people.
History proves that revolutionary models have a rapid take-off. We, in most the Arab countries are living the risk that the climate is right for this transit. Therefore, if our goal is stability in this unstable climate, we should tackle three major priorities.
Firstly, and undoubtedly; the need to quench the thirst of the Jordanians to see a charismatic national figure form a national government. Furthermore, to recognize that many of those who opposed the recent politics were ranked unjustly as “opposition”, while their fault was being too concerned about the Jordanian strategic interests and their “exaggerated devotion”.
Secondly, the coming phase is likely to take the whole Arab world through a new dark stage, where we will have to think in terms of a “National Security Council” to face this. There will be numerous challenges. The signature of the imminent future will be the re-shaping of the region in politics or, in the worse scenario, war.
This is why we need a figure with a strong security, military and political background who can deal with internal and external issues, but especially getting our country together and functioning. We cannot do this without a governing body that is prepared to revise policies with speedy decisions in order to be efficient.
The third point is, to conserve the integrity of the popular Jordanian institution, the Royal Court, historically a channel of dialogue and bridge between the decision maker and his people. Any policy devised to remain neutral or to create distances from the historical role of the people would certainly be damaging to future stability.
We are still optimistic that concrete changes can come which will bring satisfaction and restore hope that a better and secure future really exists. Otherwise we fear we will have to contend with the future that turning a deaf ear to the people will lead to. Therefore, to conclude this article, there is no better quote that the well-known words of the Canadian-American economist J K Galbraith:
"All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership."
Dr. Amer Al Sabaileh
http://amersabaileh.blogspot.com |
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