The Ideology of Development

I just read William Easterly's article "The Ideology of Development" in this month's Foreign Policy, where he likens the development goals of the international financial institutions (IMF, WB, UN etc) to previous ideologies like Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and to previous economic growth paradigms (aid-financed investment, market reforms, institutional reform, etc). But Easterly seems to be talking more about modernization theory than the complex, multifaceted and tailored programs for development many organizations promote. As much as it pains me to side with the IMF, Easterly's 'hands off' model does a great disservice to history. He doesn't once mention colonialism in his entire article.

Modernization theory is certainly defunct (and should be relegated to what Easterly calls the "Museum of Dead Ideologies"). To suggest that there is a model for development that can be emulated in the less developed countries - and that this model can be derived from the development history of the advanced democracies is certainly not a dominant theory any longer. It ignores the drastically different context of the modern global economy in which the less-developed countries are currently trying to develop. Easterly also ignores the 'less than altruistic' design of many foreign aid programs. Easterly sites the abysmal record of foreign aid in helping countries climb out of poverty. However he fails to point out that much of this money (he cites $154 billion given to the Middle East from 1980 to 2001) is earmarked by donor governments for certain programs - cheif among them buying advanced weapons systems from the donor governments themselves (a convoluted way of keeping domestic industry in the advanced democracies thriving). By one way or another - much of the foreign aid that goes to developing countries comes back to donor governments.

There is a middle road between the straw man Easterly calls "Development Ideology" (which is really modernization theory, and doesn't accurately describe many of the development programs now in place in poor countries) and the hands-off; let them find their own way approach he is promoting. But it involves changes in the advanced democracies just as much as it entails any change on behalf of the governments of poor countries. Maybe the agricultural base in Africa would provide a source of surplus income if they could export more of their produce to the US or Europe (but they can't because huge agribusiness firms have lobbied to secure protections for themselves under the guise of 'save the family farm' campaigns). Maybe the textile industry in Africa (the next phase of industrialization after agriculture) could get a fair start if China didn't dump cheap goods at their door and if well-meaning philanthropists from the US didn't ship truckloads of used clothes into Africa.

True - as Easterly says, every country must find its own path to development, and the paths are as varied as the countries themselves. But no country can find its own way if the advanced democracies keep laying economic land mines along every possible route.

Fomenting fears of Shiite Crescent?

There are many shady forces signaling the rise of an ‘Iranian-led Shiite crescent’ - but a surprising number don’t come from the Middle East. Many extra-regional actors are fanning the flames out of their own self-interest. Aside from the Bush administration’s thinly veiled propaganda there are other more pervasive forces difficult to pin down. Chief among them are the ‘regional experts’ eager to provide the Bush administration with justification to intervene in Iran and other hot spots, either because of shared ideological commitments or personal aggrandizement. Then there’s the global defense industry targeting the Gulf market, which is conveniently made up of precarious Sunni monarchies awash in petrodollars.

As usual, there is no shortage of experts ready to peddle their advice on confronting this “looming danger.” One such menacing assessment comes from Gulf Research Council Chairman Abdulaziz Sager, "The Gulf region, which has not enjoyed security and stability for decades, is currently passing through a danger-laden historical turning-point." A columnist in the state-sponsored Saudi daily wrote “Iran is invading the Arab world and burning everything in its path.” In July Reuters reported a Western diplomat in Riyadh as saying, “Who in the long term is their main strategic threat? They see it as Iran.”

If that’s true the Arab public seems to have missed it. A November 2006 University of Maryland/Zogby poll of six Arab countries (including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) indicates that more than ¾ of respondents see Israel and the US as their greatest existential threats, only 11% name Iran. Although they overwhelmingly support Shiite Hizbullah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, as well as Iranian President Ahmadinijad, it isn’t because of their sectarian identity – but because they refuse to bow to US and Israeli pressure. This reflects the vast divide between Arab governments’ policies and the views of their citizens. One U.S.-based Saudi analyst speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters last year summed it up: "It seems that the Saudis will likely continue to spend on the most modern weaponry, regardless of whether this Iranian-led Shi'ite crescent is real or not.”

Predictably, fears of a “Shiite crescent” have driven defense spending to unprecedented heights in the region. Overall measures for 2005 show that the largest relative spending increase in the world was in the Middle East, and that’s without Iraq and Qatar, excluded because of inconsistent data (SIPRI). But, if Iran is planning any major military action in the region, it’s doing so on the cheap: its 2005 per capita military spending was less than half the average of the other Middle East and North African states (IISS).

A critical inspection suggests that rising sectarianianism may reflect a well-orchestrated campaign to foment division as much as any primordial divisions. Rumors of mass conversions of Sunnis to Shiism following Hizbullah’s impressive performance in the summer war with Israel, the circulation of proselytizing literature among Sunnis in Egypt, videos of anti-Sunni rallies in Jordan and other places all have dubious origins and are dismissed by many well-placed analysts and religious leaders as fabricated. The drive to confront Iran, and the US plan to establish permanent bases in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE and at least 12 equipment ‘sets’ from which to launch operations from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, would both be served by trumping up fears of Shiite ascendancy.

Divide and Conquer has always been a tool of control – the question is whether Arab governments are willing to play up sectarian divisions and the Iranian threat just to further US policy goals. If the Sunni-Shiite outreach on Al Jazeera and the recent high profile meetings between Ahmadinijad and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah signal anything, it is that Middle East leaders are realizing the importance of building bridges as US power diminishes. This development may prove the most constructive in the region’s history.

Modes of Transport and Socioeconomic Status in Morocco

Based on my extensive social science skills, I have developed this easy rule of thumb for socio-economic classification based on Moroccan modes of Transport as a proxy:

If your main mode of transport is:

Luxury SUV: you work for the government

Luxury SUV with minor body damage and expired plates: you work for the
government but your wages haven't kept pace with inflation

Foreign Sedan: your brother/uncle/father works for the government

Dirtbike or Moped: You'd love to work for the government . . . . why?
Did you hear they were hiring . . . .

Donkey Cart: you work for the government, you just don't know it

By Foot: What government?

God, Country and King (without the noblesse oblige)

It may sound like a Monty Python sketch - but it's a phrase that appears frequently throughout Morocco: "God, Country and King." I'm not sure of the origins of the phrase, (or if it's officially endorsed) but to a new-comer it seems a less-than-creative medieval throwback attempting to justify and legitimize the 'divine right of kings' and the dominant characteristic of feudalism (a massive and permanent underclass). Most of my sightings of the 'motto' seem to be non-government sponsored (or, at least made to look so) - like when you see "God Bless America" spelled with paper cups shoved into a chain-link fence on an overpass. But like anyone who's seen a 'spontaneous' rally erupt where everyone has matching armbands and coordinated slogans on their signs - I'm always a little suspicious of the motivations and agents behind pro-government displays.

Public Fountains in Morocco

Public Fountains are a major institution in Morocco (and throughout a lot of the Middle East). In a land where water is scarce, religion and custom urges philanthropists and other wealthy patrons to build these small public water facilities. Some cities have hundreds of fountains - from the simple and purely functional to the large and ornate. The people of the city can come here and gather water for drinking and household chores.

Summer Study in the Maghrib (Morocco)

I'm currently in Morocco for the summer, studying Arabic at the American School in Tangier. This is my first time in Morocco, so my posts will be mainly 'stream-of-consciousness' observations detailing my time here. Some of it will include comparisons to Lebanon and Yemen, which are the other two Middle East countries I've spent time in.


What's the first thing I notice when I visit a foreign country? - the
political situation (no); the economic system (wrong again); hegemonic
structures pulsing with power beneath a thin veneer of societal
stability (of course not). I'm too busy looking at: Women's Fashion!!!

Most Moroccan women wear the hijab (a colorful scarf to cover their
hair) but quite a few don't. Lots of them wear colorful jalabas (long
robes) with lots of embroidery and sometimes with hoods. Many of them
wear jalabas without the headscarf – which makes it seem like more of
an issue of convenience than a symbol of religious identity (sort of
like a fashionable housecoat/robe that's suitable for wear outside the house). The fashion is much more European than American (lots of skinny jeans, tunics, leggings, wide belts,
ballet-style slippers). Some women even wear those "I dream of Jeannie" pants (tight around
the bottom and baggy) with little slippers and tank tops. A higher
concentration of sequins than is generally advisable, but much
preferable to the "shiny = pretty" problem plaguing fashion in the developing world.

The men on the other hand are often not as tasteful. Memo #1 to the shabab
(young men): bangs are for girls. Memo #2: The jerry curl is for
Little Richard, and it doesn't even work that well for him. Memo #3:
The ability to objectify and insult a female passerby in English,
Spanish, French and Arabic does not increase your chances four-fold of
getting a date. Memo #4: If it hurts to sit down because your jeans
are too tight, it's probably not too good for your sperm count either.


Many farmers come to the cities to sell their own produce, so there's lots of donkeys/mules/horses sharing the road with cars (although the former seem to have the right-of-way regardless of the traffic). There's lots of traffic circles, but they don't use
them like we do. In theory – you move toward the outside of the
traffic circle when you want to exit. But here – they make a beeline right from the inside, at a 90 degree angle, when they want to exit. Maybe that's why traffic accidents are a leading cause of death in Morocco.

Diabetes is also a major problem in Morocco – and five minutes
in-country shows you why. Every other store is a patisserie selling a
mind-boggling array of pastries and candy, and that's washed down with
mint tea with enough sugar to send a kid with ADD into lunar orbit.
When my favorite café was closed early in the morning I ventured
(alone) into one of the 'sausage-fest' (read: men only) cafes near the
school to get my morning dose of caffeine. When the waiter brought my
sugar and I told him I take my coffee without sugar he looked at me
like I'd just sprouted a second head that then cursed his newly
deceased mother. He insisted again that he had brought me sugar for
my coffee (indicating thusly by miming the spooning of the sugar into
my coffee). When I insisted that I liked the taste of coffee without
the sugar he compromised by leaving the sugar at the table for me
"just in case." The standard serving of sugar that comes with tea and
coffee in restaurants is somewhere between 2 and 10 tablespoons. In
spite of this the men remain inexplicably thin (life is so unfair).
The patisseries are also a central location for beggars –
circumstances). There's lots of traffic circles, but once you've entered the circle there's no clear guidelines for operating your vehicle. In theory – you move toward the outside of the
traffic circle when you want to exit. But here – they make a beeline
right from the inside, at a 90 degree angle, when they want to exit.
Maybe that's why traffic accidents are a leading cause of death in
Morocco (a close second to asphyxiation from tight pants).

Unfortunately, unemployment is an enormous problem in Morocco, and a lot of highly educated
people end up working menial jobs (waiters, taxi drivers,
cashiers, etc). Often those serving you food and selling you movie tickets are astute observers of politics and society and make for great conversation partners. Plus, like anywhere in the world, people love to talk about their own country and its customs to foreigners so it's always a pleasant experience to talk global politics with the clerk at the grocery down the street.

Healthcare:

Diabetes is also a major problem in Morocco – and five minutes
in-country shows you why. Every other store is a patisserie selling a
mind-boggling array of pastries and candy, and that's washed down with
mint tea with enough sugar to send a kid with ADD into lunar orbit.

When my favorite café was closed early in the morning I ventured
(alone) into one of the 'sausage-fest' (read: men only) cafes near the
school to get my morning dose of caffeine. When the waiter brought my
sugar and I told him I take my coffee without sugar he looked at me
like I'd just sprouted a second head that then cursed his newly
deceased mother. He insisted again that he had brought me sugar for
my coffee (indicating thusly by miming the spooning of the sugar into
my coffee). When I insisted that I liked the taste of coffee without
the sugar he compromised by leaving the sugar at the table for me
"just in case." The standard serving of sugar that comes with tea and
coffee in restaurants is somewhere between 2 and 10 tablespoons. In
spite of this the men remain inexplicably thin (life is so unfair).
The patisseries are also a central location for beggars – which is
clever, since if you have enough money to indulge in sweets you must also have enough money to spare some for your fellow Moroccan.

Cats!!!
There are lots of stray cats in Morocco (just like other Middle East
countries) but the people seem to genuinely love them here (in
contrast to Yemen, and from what I saw in Beirut). They are regularly
fed and petted by shop-keepers and passersby. I even found a man
feeding a small kitten goat's milk because the mother had died.
Needless to say – this has really earned Moroccans a place in my
heart!

Why do they like us so much?!

In addition to being kind to animals the Moroccans are also very kind
to foreigners (especially those who speak enough Arabic to understand
and laugh at their jokes). Which is surprising, because in some
cities (Fez and Marrakesh especially) there are almost as many
tourists as Moroccans, which would seem to decrease their marginal value . Bargaining in the souq (with tourists) is choreographed almost as tightly as a Japanese No drama.

Another common feature of Moroccan life is the offer of livestock to
foreign women in exchange for the promise of marriage. Since I've heard this is fairly common and I've yet to hear about the transaction actually taking place I think this is a joke meant for our benefit. When I was in Fez a man offered 2,000 camels for me and my female friend. Well, I shouldn't say he offered them to us – so much as for us. I asked him
if that was all up front or if he would be paying in installments.
Turns out his dromedary stash was significantly less than he
insinuated.

Food: The food is really amazing, tagine (named for the terra cotta
pot with conical lid the food is cooked in) and couscous are standards, but
they also have pigeon pies - yes, pigeon in a sweet pastry with
powdered sugar (again with the sugar). The cooks here at the
American School are amazing, and fix us a wonderful huge lunch
everyday. A nice change from the 'beans with bread, bread with beans,
bean-based bread, bread-infused beans and breaded beans' diet I had in
Yemen last summer.

They also have avocado smoothies for sale at the juice bars (which I guess does make sense, since avocado has a pit that makes it a member of the fruit family?). And they're surprisingly tasty (although eat a few of those a day and you'll max out your life-time caloric intake).