http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/08/11/a-tale-of-two-economic-trajectories/

The Middle East and East Asia: A tale of two economic trajectories

By Etel Solingen August 11

This post is part of the “International Relations and a new Middle East” symposium.
With the hopes raised by the “Arab Spring” faded, the region’s agenda is once again dominated by terrorism, unspeakable human rights abuses, civil wars, use of chemical weapons, failed states and now a brutal would-be caliphate. Was this the only possible trajectory? Looking back 50 years, the Middle East faced challenges of postcolonial state and nation-building, low per-capita income and heavy-handed authoritarianism. East Asia faced much of the same, yet today has become the epicenter of the global economy. How could similar conditions lead to such disparate outcomes?http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/08/11/a-tale-of-two-economic-trajectories/