Washington Kurdish Institute
Amb. Faik Nerweyi January 13, 2020
Lack of Justice as Cause of Disintegration
We are confronted with alarming unrest in Iraq. Young demonstrators are willing to sacrifice their lives for a change in the system. This readiness for the ultimate sacrifice shows that these people definitely feel things are not right! Baghdad is not the only hotspot of such uprisings. The same thing is going on in Yemen, Lebanon, Algeria, Libya and with some differences, also in Iran. Syria is in shambles, as we well know. The state machinery in all these places answer the demonstrators’ demands with violence and assassinations, arrogantly explaining away their own misgivings; someone else is always responsible. The very fabric of these societies is in danger, if not already badly damaged.
Social mobility creates motivation
In democratic states to be nominated a minister comes with high remunerations in social status, personal satisfaction, political power, and also in terms of a high salary. So is the case with parliament members. Understandably, the competition for these posts is hard, not just anyone can get there. Those in power must do their job legally and in respect of both regulations and traditions. Carefully chosen and qualified career bureaucrats in the ministries are there to prepare policies through a careful process, to uphold the significant principles of justice.
Men send their children to school, teach them manners, culture, identity, and sense of belonging so that they could stand on their feet. These children would assume that their country is ruled by law and governed by regulations. They trust that achievement is behind hard work. They should know that they cannot solely rely on their reputable family background. They also realize that not all people are charismatic and uniquely talented; most of us are ordinary people, believing in hard work to make an honest, decent living. Children are made to understand that in order to go forward they must compete with their friends for a better position. Getting a good reputation as an honest man or woman depends on them being clear and truthful; their dreams depend on that. Life is constant learning and we all need to acquire new information all throughout our lives.
What happens when young men and women instead find themselves in a context where all their knowledge and all their valuable experience is deemed irrelevant? What if in real life anyone can be anything, provided they have money, influential relatives or the needed connections, regardless of their experience, merits or education? What if they see that a squarely incompetent fellow is suddenly rich and powerful, a meritless man is appointed minister, a street peddler counterfeits a diploma, pays some bribes and becomes a decision-maker? What if people are not sure what they are expected to do? In other words, what if there is no established system of social mobility under the prevailing system? Or even worse, people would not be enjoying the simple benefits of living in a secure state, having access to clean water, electricity or possibilities for proper education or employment according to their acquired skills?
Corruption becomes the culture
Obviously, the country would soon reach a boiling point! Clearly, the reason would be lack of hope for a better future, lack of predictability, lack of – well, practically everything. The leaders and the army of secretaries and advisers that they command would remain sitting on their hands because they are not part of a healthy bureaucratic system. They are not getting a definite, predictable salary, and more importantly, they do not seem to have prospects for mobility either horizontally or vertically inside the bureaucratic system. This sort of social mobility is elementary for the function of the bureaucratic mechanism. Predictability of promotions and chances of climbing higher in the society are not, of course, confined to the bureaucratic apparatus. The same rules should apply everywhere in society. If they are missing, people start “rewarding” themselves through other means.
We are already witnessing in real terms the effects of not having a legitimate system of rewards and discipline in society. Is it not understandable that people lose confidence in the legal system given the situations they are facing all over the Middle East? They surely lose faith if year after year the promises of improvements fail to be realized or, worse still, turn out to be lies. Would people really give up their dreams or their right for a better life? Would they not begin to regard other members of their corrupt society as likely dishonest competitors, who do not deserve their respect? Does this not inevitably make them give up their ideals and their belief in hard work as a way of getting their deserved perks in the end? Wouldn’t they easily turn to illegal and even violent means of getting what they feel they deserve? Corruption becomes the dominant culture.
A broken society has no future
A state which is leading a broken society goes nowhere. You can see its manifestations everywhere: the police who are supposed to protect people abuse them instead. The civil servant who is supposed to serve ruthlessly puts obstacles in front of citizens, simply out of laziness or, in the worst case, in order to blackmail them for favors or monetary bribes. All sense of work ethics, not to mention solidarity, is lost.
We are now facing a difficult question: Is there any conceivable way to correct this kind of mismanagement at such huge proportions? Will it anymore be enough to simply change one man, be it a minister or a prime minister? Is there a way to mend the broken cohesiveness of the society? Have we reached a point of no return, where a much more profound change is needed?
Have we reached a point, where the political crisis in the whole of the Middle East and the consequent mistrust between the state apparatus and the people cannot be restored simply by replacing some people? Could one suggest that to regain the trust of people we need real functioning institutions? The state has to prove its worthiness to the citizens. How could the state prove to them that fairness could be reinstated and corruption would indeed be regarded as a crime to be uprooted for the good of the country? Would such moves not require elementary changes in the mentality of the ruling, a functioning, fairly elected government, and a long, concerted contribution of the people themselves?
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and positions expressed by authors and contributors do not necessary reflect those of the WKI.