UAE | General
Trapped in a cultural divide
A large part of the problem between the US and Syria is attributed to their poor understanding of each other’s perceptions.
- By Marwan Al Kabalan, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 July 15, 2005
Three years after the September 11 attacks on the United States, societies across the globe have become increasingly polarised in their views of each other.
Within America, anti-Arab and Muslim stereotypes persist and in the Arab and Muslim world anti-American sentiments have never been stronger as they are now.
US-Syrian relations have reflected these broader trends and have become increasingly hostile over the past year. Indeed, structural interests play a significant role in defining relations between the two countries.
Yet, a large part of the problem is attributed to cross-cultural differences and perceptions. With the lack of any attempt to understand the larger contexts within which decisions are shaped and made, leaders of the two countries are destined to act upon a poor understanding of each other.
Cultural perceptions exist at all levels and penetrate all circles of any given society. Policy-makers operate in a social system and are subject to its prevalent political, social and cultural values.
During the Cold War era, policy-makers tended to minimise the impact of cultural differences on their foreign relations in order to protect key strategic and economic interests.
After 9/11, however, cultural perceptions have become an important part of policy-making.
Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad, in the opening ceremony of the ruling Baath Party congress in June, accused the West of trying to destroy Arab identity.
US officials, on the other hand, considered the September 11 attacks as an attack on Western values ie liberty and democracy.
On the popular level, cultural perceptions play a significant role in limiting the options of policy makers in the two countries.
Despite the lack of tangible evidence linking Syria in any way to Al Qaida, public opinion polls in the United States demonstrate a sizeable shift in the perception of Syria as an "enemy state" since September 11.
In the year 2000, only 11 per cent qualified Syria as an "enemy" but in 2003, this rose to 31 per cent.
Following the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in February and the withdrawal of the US ambassador to Damascus, Syria topped the list of US enemies.
In the media, cultural perceptions play even a more critical role in defining the self and the other. Cultural differences appear in the US media coverage of the outside world in general, but particularly when dealing with opposite cultural realms.
Set of values
There is, in fact, a set of values that governs the US media coverage of international news. Among these values are ethnocentricism, democracy, capitalism, individualism, moderatism and order.
If we apply these values to the Arab world in general and Syria in particular, we find most of them would tend to tilt against them.
Ethnocentricism in particular found in any nation's news means that editors would consciously or unconsciously sympathise with people who are culturally similar for example, democratic, Western-oriented, and Syria clearly does not come into this category.
Similarly, the impact of culture and culture perceptions on the making of Syrian foreign policy is evident. The political culture in Syria was an important factor in the decision to extend the term of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.
Syria, which hardly knew any democratic experience since the Baath Party came to power in 1963 thought that it could export its political culture to neighbouring Lebanon.
Syria, which amended its constitution to ensure a smooth succession process after the death of president Hafiz Al Assad, thought it could do the same in Lebanon.
Syria underestimated the local and international opposition and ended up losing key allies in Lebanon and in Europe.
More important, perhaps, the Syrian leadership, which very often tries to neutralise and limit the influence of its society on the making of foreign policy, could not understand how the American political system works.
Unlike the United States, where interest groups, lobbies, the media, public opinion and think tanks play important role in shaping policy decisions, the state in Syria is so powerful that it does not allow such parties to operate and influence policy-making.
Acting from within different cultural conditions, Syria did not expect the US administration to heed the call of the American Task Force for Lebanon a Washington-based group of prominent Lebanese and US businessmen and take the issue of democracy in Lebanon seriously.
This resulted in poor decisions and low-level conflict with the United States and the UN.
Given culture's important role in foreign policy, US-Syrian relations have become hostage to misunderstanding, misperception, misrepresentation, and misjudgments.
Most Syrian leaders know America only through the media. This also applies to US officials. Both sides are ignorant of the way the two countries plan and make decisions.
They don't know how the other party thinks, what he means when something is said; and more important what is his true intention.
The lack of efforts to understanding the other's culture could well lead to more complications in the relationship between the two countries.
Dr Marwan Al Kabalan is a lecturer in media and international relations, Faculty of Political Science and Media, Damascus University, Syria.
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