Mr. Nabil Fahmy, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt and Dean of School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo, was invited to attend the second “North Pavilion Dialogue” held by the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS), Peking University (PKU) on the afternoon of 17 October, 2015. He delivered a speech entitled “Winds of Change in Egypt and the Middle East” at PKU Foreign Language Building, where the event was hosted by Associate Professor Wu Bingbing, Special Research Fellow of IISS. Nearly tens of teachers, students, relevant experts and scholars participated in this talk.

Mr. Fahmy narrates issues on the Middle East, especially the Egyptian situation, from the perspectives of social politics and diplomatic policy. He believes that all revolutions during the past five years in the Middle East had revealed that street politics would erupt when domestic governance cannot satisfy the expectations of its people. The moment when this kind of collective awareness arouses, the already frail “malfunction government” would become even more vulnerable, which further leads to a failed state. He contends that rather than adhering to what the textbooks have defined democracy, “good governance” should be set as the target of national governance instead, which means unhindered communication channels between people and the government, as well as willingness of the government to interact with and serve its people.

Mr. Fahmy further points out that young people occupies a huge proportion in the Middle East society. The speedy development of science and technology has resulted in a situation where powers gradually transit from elder-politics and parent-politics to youths and those who possess technique skills. New technology means greater power of discourse. In such a high-speed developing time, malfunctioned or inefficient government falls in a very dangerous situation. When the out-of-date structure encounters new issues, it is only natural that youths would feel confused towards their nation and their lives in general.

The difference between Middle East issues and other regional stability problems is that, not only is the Middle East going through a stage of internal transformation and social turbulence, but it also is facing a surroundings one of constant conflicts and great powers struggles.

In terms of the future of the Middle East, Mr. Fahmy stressed that new problems in the Middle East also includes sectarian collision. The denominational tag has been diluted for a long time; however, it prones to regaining recognition in recent years. Moreover, this tendency would bring the society to the extremes. On the other hand, the imbalance of denominational distribution and geographical endowment distribution would intensify the conflicts over resources and interests among different religions. Therefore, he holds a cautious opinion about the future. 

In conclusion, Mr. Fahmy believes that the fundamental challenge facing the Arabian world is its demand for establishing a social and political system that adapts to the 21st century and integrates into the modern international society.

After his speech, Mr. Fahmy exchanged opinions with professors, students and distinguished guests.