This is not a plea to justify the perpetuation of authoritarian regimes in the Arab world. It is meant to provide a cautionary tale from which the United States and other major powers need to learn certain unpalatable lessons so that they do not end up doing more harm than good by repeating the same policies in future. The blowback from policies that lead to state failure can be far more dangerous than inaction in the face of oppression, because in the absence of security that can only be provided by a functioning state, no other values, including human rights, can thrive. Advocates of a “responsibility to protect” would also do well to reflect upon the experiences of so-called “humanitarian” interventions in the Arab world and elsewhere. A thorough analysis of these interventions is likely to act as a warning to them that what they consider to be the best can often turn out to be the enemy of the good.

Mohammed Ayoob is Senior Fellow, Center for Global Policy, and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University.

Image: Iraqi army soldiers from 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Division stand outside an Iraqi army compound in Buhriz, Iraq. Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Air Force