المرتكزات الخاطئة

The countries that base their policies on unrealistic concepts and unbalanced policies or flawed foundations will ultimately reap only loss, regression, and decline in the long term. Both modern and ancient history are filled with lessons and examples. For instance, President Muammar Gaddafi built the state on the concept of revolution and the fight against imperialist and colonial powers, neglecting social, cultural, and economic development. Libya has indeed witnessed a decline in development indicators despite its oil wealth, and there has been a state of institutional instability and reliance on revolutionary rhetoric at the expense of building a stable modern state. This contributed to the ease of the state's collapse and was one of the reasons for the internal civil war, which was exploited by external forces. The socialist experiments in some third-world countries, or systems based on closed ideologies, are also factors contributing to the decline of states.

Neglecting economic and social development in favor of ideology or military adventures.

An example is the Soviet Union, which built its policy on class struggle and extreme centralization, while neglecting economic incentives and individual freedoms. The result was a stifling economic collapse, followed by the fall of the entire state in 1991. Nazi Germany, which was based on the idea of racial superiority and military expansion, achieved a short-term economic revival through rearmament, but it ended with the destruction of infrastructure and the occupation of countries.

Relying on a single resource (rent) without diversifying the economy or building institutions ultimately leads to the collapse of the state. A prime example of this is Venezuela, which relied on oil to finance populist policies without developing other industries or achieving political stability under Hugo Chávez and then Maduro. The economy collapsed with falling oil prices, and the country turned into a severe humanitarian crisis. Similarly, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, after immense oil wealth in the 1970s, entered into long wars (with Iran, then Kuwait) and sanctions, which impoverished the people and destroyed the state.

Ignoring the building of institutions and relying on a single leader is one of the reasons for the collapse of states. There are clear examples in post-independence Africa, such as Zaire under Mobutu or Uganda under Idi Amin, where the regimes focused on consolidating personal rule and suppressing opposition, without building a professional national army or an independent judiciary. The result: civil wars, tribal divisions, and state failure.

Isolationist policies hostile to the outside world without internal preparation are a cause of weakness and decay. Albania under Enver Hoxha (1960-1985), which severed all relations with both the West and the socialist East, built a poor, isolated police state after his death, finding itself in a horrific backwardness compared to its European neighbors.

In contrast, we find that countries like Singapore and South Korea, which built their policies on development, education, and institutions away from rigid revolutionary slogans, each achieved great success as a result of following social, economic, and institutional development policies. It is a constant equation: balanced development and strong institutions equal revival and stability.