The Modernisation of Arabia

Abstract

This chapter analyzes how a few Arab countries have conducted successful policies of modernisation in order to promote inter alia the arrival of modern capitalism, or the market economy. The Arab state is typically described as authoritarian, a strong state in a weak society, following Migdal’s concepts. The Islamic world was prepared for the arrival of modern capitalism towards the middle of the nineteenth century, especially the Arab countries. The Arabs put themselves to work, as testified by the birth of modern economic institutions in the nineteenth century. The modernisation literature in Arab countries resulted in a clear message, namely that Islam as a civilisation had enormous problems with modernity. The structural thesis on the contrary searches for the obstacles to hinder the full-scale development of a civil society in the Arab world, arguing that the foundations exist in modern times.