THE MIDDLE EAST TRANSPARENCY DRIVES TRUST AFTER THE ARAB SPRING
“Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow.” Those aren’t the words of a corporate motivational speaker, nor of a Democrat on Capitol Hill hoping to solve the US debt crisis, nor even a revolutionary in Syria. They were written by the Roman poet Horace in the last century before the birth of Christ. Trust has always been a precarious commodity, something difficult to acquire but easy to lose. Without trust there is no society, no taxes, no rubbish collection, and certainly no democracy. Some countries, like most companies, can function as dictatorships, but eventually they lose the support of the population and the leader is overthrown. Even though writers and commentators have been bemoaning the loss of trust for millennia, trust in governments and corporations seems to be at an all time low in many parts of the world. Politicians are harangued for their lack of transparency and accountability, while companies are blamed for their lack of corporate governance. In the Middle East politicians have had a difficult year. The Arab Spring saw the overthrow of both the Tunisian and Egyptian governments, and widespread protests in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen. The old brand of paternalistic government is seen as too slow, too unaccountable and too old-fashioned. But there have been pockets of resistance to the idea of change for change’s sake.
16 | THE CHALLENGE OF TRUST - COHERENCE IN AN AGE OF COMPLEXITY
In the United Arab Emirates, for example, the local population have shown their loyalty both to their tribes but also to the ruler, Sheikh Khalifa al Nayhan. In Saudi Arabia, the ruling family has moved quickly to crush dissent but also to spend money on housing and job creation. Trust in media has also been strained in the region, as state-own or state-run media struggled to come to terms with the changes. In Egypt, for example, the January revolution encouraged journalists to stop censoring their reports and tell it as they saw it. News programmes on private television stations as well as the state-run channels now cover protests against the government and the ruling military council. Deference towards ministers is rare, replaced with scepticism and even criticism of top officials. But press freedom advocates say these gains are under threat from a military establishment hostile to dissent or even criticism. One of Egypt’s best known bloggers and social media activists, Hossam el-Hamalawy, was summoned for questioning by military prosecutors following an appearance on
state TV in which he accused military police of a number of abuses of power. In a separate incident Maikel Nabil, a blogger, claimed that the army had supported President Mubarak at the outset. A month later, 26-year-old Nabil, an activist in the anti-Mubarak protests, was given a three-year prison sentence. In some circles the generals are now perceived to be decreeing what media can cover, and what they must avoid saying. Even so, there is definitely greater press freedom in Egypt this year than last year. Editors of state newspapers perceived as complicit with Mubarak’s regime have been replaced. More than half a dozen new private newspapers and television stations have launched. And trust in the Media in the UAE was far higher than the rest of Europe when polled a year ago by Edelman. It will be fascinating to see how the events in the Middle East this year have changed attitudes to the media – both traditional and social. The role of social media in the events of the Arab Spring may well have been exaggerated. It was not a ‘Facebook Revolution’ or even a ‘Twitter’ one, but there is no doubt that social media helped activists realise that they were not alone and provided them a platform from which to rally support. Twenty people all saying the same thing on Twitter meant
that you could probably trust them, particularly at a time when state-run television channels or radio stations were either silent or obstructive. The consequences of the Arab Spring are still uncertain. If stable democracies are to emerge, it will take time and any region undergoing political transition is unstable. However the popular movements in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere have sent a clear message to politicians and business. The companies and governments that will prosper will be those that are seen to be honest, open and accountable. Mistakes can be dealt with, provided they are corrected quickly and transparently. This is the challenge of the next decade. Cover-ups are no longer possible or acceptable in the age of Twitter.
Iain Twine, General Manager, Edelman Abu Dhabi iain.twine@edelman.com
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