Middle East chooses between Western, Islamist and Turkish ways of development

PanARMENIAN.Net - Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the RA National Academy of Sciences Ruben Safrastyan said that a struggle among the western, Islamist and Turkish ways of political development is under way in Middle East.

The first project – Big Middle East – is developed by American and Israeli scientists in 1990s, Safrastyan told a press conference in Yerevan. It envisages democratic revolutions in Near East, after which the region’s countries should have a pro-Western stance.

The second project is drafted by Islamist fundamentalist scientists and foresees strengthening of Islam in the region’s countries, as well as struggle against globalization.

The Turkish project of Neo-Ottomanism, which is said to be authored by current Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, envisages Turkey’s hegemony on the territory of former countries of the Ottoman Empire.

According to Safrastyan, it is difficult to predict which project will celebrate victory. As for the projects impact on Armenia, Safrastyan said that Armenians can adopt for all the projects except for the Turkish one, which is unacceptable for us.

Currently the world faces changes similar to those that took place before and after the Great French Revolution, Safrastyan said.

“Humanity enters a new stage, while Internet is its main peculiarity. The virtual world starts affecting the reality with the assistance of Internet,” he concluded.