On 4 July, Qantara website published an article written by Morris Ayek, in which Ayek explores the notion of civil wars in the Arab world, arguing that the so called ‘civil wars’ which are frequently developing in the Arab world, whether in Libya, Syria, Iraq, or even Somalia, have more to do with wars between tribes, kin, than wars between citizens. Indeed, the author distinguishes two types of ‘civil wars’, an Arabic type which takes the form of wars between kinsfolk, and a Western type, which is between groups of citizens in line with opposing ideologies. The article stands as an attempt to understand the nature of the conflicts in the Arabic world, pointing out the importance of the tribal factor and the resulting climate of competitions between the tribal groups to gain dominion.Click here to read more.
The Civil Wars of the Arab world