Le Forze Armate Arabe possono essere un elemento rivoluzionario in Medio Oriente? È quanto chiede Judy Dempsey  questa settimana a sette esperti di politica estera: Nathan BrownKoert Debeuf, Kristina Kausch, Lina Khatib, Gianni Riotta, Tommy Steiner,  e  Pieter Wezeman.

La risposta di Gianni Riotta:

"Rereading Samuel Huntington’s celebrated 1993 essay “The Clash of Civilizations?” today, one is reminded of an aspect often forgotten in the present debate: his question mark. While the dispute on the clash of civilizations roars online, pundits forget about the political scientist’s doubts and dilemmas, which end with a humble forecast: “For the relevant future, there will be no universal civilization, but instead a world of different civilizations, each of which will have to learn to coexist with the others.”

Indeed, observers were surprised to wake up to a world in which the real clash was between Sunni and Shia—a creepy, shadowy proxy war that pits Iran against Saudi Arabia, each supported by its own allies and clients.

A unified Arab army, as the early coalition gathering in Yemen proves, will be only one factor in this wider theater. Eventually, the initiative may have a positive effect on some intractable conflicts (see Libya), but it will not dominate the deeper clashes: Sunni versus Shia, fundamentalists versus nonfundamentalists, and leaders ready to engage in a global community of civilizations versus leaders ready to sacrifice blood and treasure to win a cultural and religious war.

Huntington’s question mark remains unanswered".