On Friday, 04th May 2018, Shabka was excited to hold the first Salon abroad in Tripoli, Lebanon. We discussed the general question of Western influence in the Middle East under the title “Power vs Limitations: What is the Western Role in the Middle East?”.
We asked ourselves if Western states are powerful enough to make sure events in the Middle East are happening according to their interest. Or if, on the contrary, they are lost in their own limitations and unable to achieve what they actually want. In this setting, the mixed group of people from Lebanon and Austria also addressed the question what role ethics play in these relations and whether or not ethics can be a genuine cause in these multinational relations.
Salon moderator Michael Mayerhofer has recently put his thoughts on the topic into article. He presented the main ideas and questions of the article upon which he has been reflecting personally and in his work for different development projects funded by Western states in the Middle East over the last years.
What do you think about Western influence in the Middle East? Is it as one-sided as it might look? Is the question of who needs whom really that clear?
