The root cause with several nations such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or even Pakistan, is that they are still kingdoms, and have not transformed themselves into modern democratic nations. There remains no way to govern them apart from a totalitarian and dictatorial government. [The fact that Pakistan is a kingdom, not a nation unequivocally explains why Pakistan’s history has been marred with coups and why the nation goes into tizzies of instability every time a ‘democratic’ government rules it.]
The problem with kingdoms is that kingdoms cannot be multipolar, they exist because there is supremacy of one and only one force at any time - as Jean Bodin's concept of absolute sovereign commands. If that force is not a monarch or military dictator, there ensues a war between various factions to become that 'one force' which would govern the kingdom.
One of the reasons why Pakistan has seen so many bloody coups is that it was not gifted with the vision of ‘secular’ multiculturalism which is the only way for a diverse society to function without conflict. The two nation theory is not incorrect just because it talks of existence of two nations based on religion; it is more incorrect because it limits itself to just ‘two nations’. The Pathans, Punjabis, Sindhis, Pukhtuns, and now even the Muhajirs are each a ‘sub-nation’ in themselves, but left alone they will keep fighting among themselves for the want of a territory.
Similarly, the Shias and Sunni's of Iran-Iraq-Syria are two sub-nations each within the same geographical boundaries of these nations; so are the Arabs and Jews in Israel-Palestine. Unlike the Christian unity which bonds the whole of West, East has several such 'pseudo-nations' each juxtaposed over complex geographical boundaries. Each one of these 'nations' (mistakenly) seeks a territory for themselves just like Jinnah and his followers sought a Pakistan for the 'Muslim nation' within India.
However, even they are unaware that a territory is not what they seek - they seek an identity - they seek a system which recognizes that they while being a part of a larger Pakistan or Israel, are still a unique civil society in themselves with their own unique cultural and historical heritage. This story is not entirely unique to Pakistan or Israel - it holds true for many other multicultural nations where different communities are in a perpetual struggle for identities. It applies to Iraq's Shia and Sunni majority-minority combine and to Israel-Palestine's Jew-Arab populace, it applies to Lebanon which is "a mosaic of closely interrelated cultures" [reference], it even applies to North and South Korea!
This may seem like a simplification, but it should not deter us from trying out the Indian model as a solution to end the strife which has been depriving mankind of galloping ahead at a rapid pace towards being a happy race. The governance systems can differ but replicating the principles of multiculturalism and secularism; using the governance quirks of federalism and shared identity can help the multicultural East to replicate the prosperity of the West.
The Indian constitution is a living experiment, and a successful one at that, as to how a federal system of governance can be used to create such a multicultural and secular system which empowers every faction and every community while not resting power into any one of them at the same time.
Concluded.
This post is a part of the series Problems of Middle East and the Indian model as a solution
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