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The Pax Americana Is Dead. Welcome to the Age of the Godfathers.

Summarizing Eyal Zisser in Tablet · Published Tuesday, March 22, 2016
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JL;DR SUMMARY Eyal Zisser reflects on the collapse of the Arab nation-state system, using the civil war in Syria as a case study. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

United States  Middle East  Iran  Obama Administration  Syria  Russia  Isis  Bashar Al Assad  Regional Stability  Pax Americana 

Places mentioned

Syria
"In mid-March 2016 the world marked five years since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria."
Turkey
"About 10 million Syrians, amounting to about half the population of the state, had lost their homes, and about 8 million had become refugees, fleeing abroad to neighboring Arab states, Turkey, and Europe."
United States
"Nevertheless, in Syria and outside of it, indeed, all over the Middle East, during the five years of fighting hopeful eyes continued to be turned mainly to the United States, leader of the free world and defender of its values."
Russian Federation
"Rather, outside intervention came from Moscow, which took sides, not so surprisingly, with the Syrian dictator, Assad, whom many view as the main cause of the countrys tragedy."
Libya
"Willy-nilly, Syrias fate affects all the inhabitants of the region. This is due to the countrys historical and geographical centrality, which distinguish it from the other states that have recently experienced similar destructive and ruinous processes, like Libya and Yemen, or even Iraq and Somalia before them."
Yemen
"Willy-nilly, Syrias fate affects all the inhabitants of the region. This is due to the countrys historical and geographical centrality, which distinguish it from the other states that have recently experienced similar destructive and ruinous processes, like Libya and Yemen, or even Iraq and Somalia before them."
Iraq
"The Arab states that have collapsed have done so in the face of social and economic difficulties that their mostly dictatorial and corrupt ruling regimes were incapable of handling. The various states generally shaky and fragile national identities, whether Syrian, Iraqi, Lebanese, or Palestinian, as well as pan-Arab and territorial identities have been overwhelmed by ethnic, family, tribal, local regional, and, above all, Islamic identities."
Somalia
"Willy-nilly, Syrias fate affects all the inhabitants of the region. This is due to the countrys historical and geographical centrality, which distinguish it from the other states that have recently experienced similar destructive and ruinous processes, like Libya and Yemen, or even Iraq and Somalia before them."
Egypt
"The major Arab countries remaining intact are Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia."
Jordan
"The major Arab countries remaining intact are Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia."
Saudi Arabia
"The major Arab countries remaining intact are Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia."
Iran
"Russia is acting on its own, but at the same time it is prepared to cooperate with local godfatherslike Iran and Hezbollahall of them enemies of the United States and its friends in the region."

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Retrieved 2026-03-15 05:32:31 UTC
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