Dubai: Gulf countries, which have found stability through nationhood are leading the way into the future as examples for other countries in the Arab world, a top political scientist said at the World Government Summit on Monday.
In a conversation, Francis Fukuyama was asked by Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, how to establish an economic model without using liberal DNA.
Fukuyama said that he thinks “the Gulf gets the liberal part right. You don’t have democratic accountability, the elections part. The Gulf has shown the rest of the Arab world what’s possible… if you have a rule of law, you can have economic growth.”
Dr Gargash noted that current American foreign policy is concentrating more on domestic matters and that “we are seeing America as a reluctant player in some regions”.
Fukuyama agreed, pointing out that “we are definitely moving toward a multi-polar world” the world is reverting to a former political state where “poles between free-market capitalism and communism is dead”.
With identity politics and populism emerging strongly in recent years, “there has been a populist backlash against globalism,” Fukuyama said. “People want to protect their culture and their nationalities.”
The rise and upheaval of strong social issues is outpacing the ability of traditional international institutions to meet demands of the public, Fukuyama said, posing real challenges for leaders.
The idea of global governance is still in the hands of multi-lateral players rather than a single dominant global power, he said, the likes of which will probably never materiualise in his lifetime, he said.
Fukuyama, however, said that China is stepping up its game internationally to become a key global player as the United States pulls backs on its economic assertions abroad.
He said that China is not being “expansionist”, the country is simply moving “on to their own stage of their development.”
He didn’t rule out North Korean troubles at the moment further involving China and the US militarily if the current nuclear threat continues to deepen in the near future.
