William Carey International Development Journal

Bill:

Let us know about your presentation at the C.S. Lewis conference. What responses are you getting? What other papers are being presented about culture change?

Beth

As I presented this paper in Oxford, fascinating examples of culture change are transpiring in the Middle East and the Arab world in the so-called “Arab Spring.” Arab Spring Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and more are experiencing political revolutions. Clearly these are populist revolutions and began mostly from the bottom-up catalyzed by Facebook and social networking technology (though those with access to this technology are not on the bottom of the bottom).  Whether or not “the top” embraces the changes —“freedom and democracy” as advocated by “the bottom”—or whether unforeseen changes not advocated by either top or bottom will ensue, it is still too early to tell as I write (July, 2011). But surely change is not happening from the top-down in these revolutions, as I understand Hunter to hold to be generally the case. These revolutions also underscore Proposition # 7, that culture is not fully coherent. And we must consider that most revolutions end badly—the French (1789), the Russian (1917), the Chinese (1949) producing worse tyranny that the regimes they overthrow.

The Case of Egypt

The current revolution in Egypt will be an interesting case study for this proposition. Readers may assess the predictive accuracy of Hunter’s proposition and my analysis one year, three, or five years out from this writing (July, 2011).  The euphoric and intoxicating rush toward a hoped-for democratic representative government by populist protesters without first carefully building the necessary democratic institutions— (a free press, free elections, a legislature with a healthy opposition that really stands a chance of coming to power, a judicial system not dictated by religious or ideological prejudices, effective rule of law enforcement) (Proposition #3)— makes it extremely likely that authoritarian power will win the day, trumping the ideas of freedom and democracy even if the majority aspire to them.  Democracy is widely hailed but little understood by the people. Institutional creation and consolidation take time. And underlying the ability to create successful institutions are the cultural values, ethical traditions, habits and practices that characterize a people. Culture is the mother; institutions are the children. Egypt has no culture and history (Proposition #2) of democracy or representative government. They have only known pharaohs, kings, and autocrats.  So, Egypt is now under the authoritarian rule of the Army.

Will modern Egypt emerge from this military dictatorship?  How? What comes next?
If a power struggle between Islamists and the Army is the major phenomenon, whichever of these two entities win, the result will be an autocracy. There are multiple parties, but largely two main camps— a broad constellation of liberals on the one hand, and the Islamists (esp. Muslim Brotherhood) on the other. Sharia law and democracy are mutually contradictory. The Army may yield the to the obligation they feel to the strong populism that ousted Mubarak, and facilitate elections.  If so, the top will have embraced the change coming from the bottom, and it could be lasting and society-wide. If not, it will be an instance in which a wave of change began at the bottom, but the changes advocated from the bottom did not crest at the top, so the wave crashes back to the sea. Islamic organizations have a vast network of resources (Hunter’s Propositions #4, #6), and may vote themselves into power, and then make sure it is the first and last free election (just as Mubarak never held free elections). This is what Hamas did in Gaza in 2006, and what Hezbollah did in Lebanon in its de facto takeover in 2010.

If the populist movement fails, and autocracy again wins the day in Egypt, Hunter’s Proposition #8 will be confirmed, that lasting and society-wide culture change must come from the top-down. It will be simply a different kind of autocracy emerging— a shift from Mubarak’s secular autocracy to an Islamist theocracy. Cultural differences do make a difference—the American Civil Rights movement (1955-1968) changed society due to the presence of representative democratic institutions that emerged from a cultural history that values the rule of law and habits of liberty. Egypt lacks both.

To illuminate my references above, I list here James Davison Hunter’s eleven propositions about culture and culture-change ( from his book- “To Change the World…”, Oxford University Press, 2010).
I add a 12th proposition of my own:
1. CULTURE IS A SYSTEM OF TRUTH CLAIMS AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS
2. CULTURE IS A PRODUCT OF HISTORY
3. CULTURE IS INTRINSICALLY DIALECTICAL
4. CULTURE IS A RESOURCE, AND AS SUCH A FORM OF POWER
5. CULTURAL PRODUCTION AND SYMBOLIC CAPITAL ARE STRATIFIED IN A
FAIRLY RIGID STRUCTURE OF “CENTER” AND “PERIPHERY”
6. CULTURE IS GENERATED WITHIN NETWORKS
7. CULTURE IS NEITHER AUTONOMOUS NOR FULLY COHERENT
8. CULTURES CHANGE FROM THE TOP DOWN, RARELY IF EVER FROM THE
BOTTOM UP
9. CHANGE IS TYPICALLY INITIATED BY ELITES WHO ARE OUTSIDE THE
CENTERMOST POSITIONS OF PRESTIGE
10. WORLDCHANGING IS MOST CONCENTRATED WHEN THE NETWORKS OF
ELITES AND THE INSTITUTIONS THEY LEAD OVERLAP
11. CULTURES CHANGE, BUT RARELY IF EVER WITHOUT A FIGHT
12. SOCIAL CRISES, CATASTROPHES AND THE CONSEQUENT TRAUMA
PROVIDE OPTIMAL CONDITIONS FOR MAXIMAL CULTURE CHANGE (Bjoraker)

I am forever indebted to you for this informaiton.

This reminds me of the Josianic reform (2 Kgs 21-23)that was promulgated by a young king who was supported by the “People of the Land,” almost surely rural elites who were disenfranchized by the loss of patrimonial inheritance by the Assyrian encroachments in the 8th century. These are the same people who deposed Athaliah and established Joash on the throne earlier in 2Kgs 11-12. They seemed to have an uneasy relationship with the power center of Jerusalem, but had strength to act to establish their will when necessary. They were proponents of the patrilineal system that the monarchy undermined.

Dr. Bjoraker, thank you for taking on this interesting topic on changing culture.  I’m anxious to see your paper as a result!  Blessings~

Hi Terry, Give me your email address and I will send it to you!  Bless you!  Bill