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Middle East politics have always felt beyond my understanding. I know we (as in western countries, specifically the US and the UK, but also others) contributed

Middle East politics have always felt beyond my understanding. I know we (as in western countries, specifically the US and the UK, but also others) contributed greatly to this mess (and still do to this day, in multiple ways). That said, at some point, you expect things to normalize, because fundamentally people should be conflict adverse, however, it seems this region has an unusually high rate of conflicts that aren't strictly due to massive government failing in succession, since it appears Middle Eastern governments have been in power a long time (thus, can establish a relative order) but seem unable to control their own country within their own borders still. Which i suppose is indeed government failure, just of a different nature than one would typically imagine (IE, losing total control)

alephnerd 3y ago
Clan dynamics aren't only a Middle Eastern thing. They happen in every culture or society where family ties matter. For example, Guangdong's rise in electronics assembly thanks to Cantonese business families in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore investing in Taiwan and then co-investing in Guangdong. > it appears Middle Eastern governments have been in power a long time Most are stable. Aside from Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen they are humming along. > people should be conflict adverse People are conflict adverse. The issue is a states like Yemen, Syria, and Iraq just straight up imploded and collapsed, so people reverted to family relations. If you ever wondered what the world would look like after the apocalypse, it doesn't look like Fallout or The Last of Us - it looks like Yemen, Syria, Nepal, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Lebanon, etc
- alephnerd 3y ago
  ^ edit to above Cantonese business families (eg. Shiniwatra/Qiu) in Thailand/HK/SG/MY investing in factories in Guangdong Hokkien business families (eg. Tan Kah Kee, like the chem building at UC Berkeley by Evan's Hall) in SG/MY investing in Taiwan and then coinvesting with Taiwanese in Guangdong Teochew business families (eg. Chearavanont/Xie, Li Ka Shing, etc) in TH/SG/MY investing in Guangdong
twic 3y ago
It's not necessarily driven by anything internal. Lots of parts of the Middle East are globally significant, because of oil and gas production and the Suez canal route. That means that they attract a lot of external meddling. For example, Iran is backing the Houthis with weapons, technology, and money. The United States has done various bits of meddling too, both supportive and not. If you pour the means of conflict into a region, you will tend to get more conflict there.

alephnerd 3y ago

Clan dynamics aren't only a Middle Eastern thing. They happen in every culture or society where family ties matter. For example, Guangdong's rise in electronics assembly thanks to Cantonese business families in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore investing in Taiwan and then co-investing in Guangdong. > it appears Middle Eastern governments have been in power a long time Most are stable. Aside from Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen they are humming along. > people should be conflict adverse People are conflict adverse. The issue is a states like Yemen, Syria, and Iraq just straight up imploded and collapsed, so people reverted to family relations. If you ever wondered what the world would look like after the apocalypse, it doesn't look like Fallout or The Last of Us - it looks like Yemen, Syria, Nepal, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Lebanon, etc

alephnerd 3y ago
^ edit to above Cantonese business families (eg. Shiniwatra/Qiu) in Thailand/HK/SG/MY investing in factories in Guangdong Hokkien business families (eg. Tan Kah Kee, like the chem building at UC Berkeley by Evan's Hall) in SG/MY investing in Taiwan and then coinvesting with Taiwanese in Guangdong Teochew business families (eg. Chearavanont/Xie, Li Ka Shing, etc) in TH/SG/MY investing in Guangdong

twic 3y ago

It's not necessarily driven by anything internal. Lots of parts of the Middle East are globally significant, because of oil and gas production and the Suez canal route. That means that they attract a lot of external meddling. For example, Iran is backing the Houthis with weapons, technology, and money. The United States has done various bits of meddling too, both supportive and not. If you pour the means of conflict into a region, you will tend to get more conflict there.