[By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

I would argue that radicalization in the Middle East is a source rather than a result, and the radicalization in other parts of the world is a result rather than the source. To put it another way, the radicalization in the Middle East has inspired and set a bad example for young people in other parts of the world. The radical elements in other parts of the world are just followers.

Therefore, it is important for every country to eliminate their own social causes of radicalization in a joint and coordinated way in order to prevent external radicals from joining ISIS. But it is even more important that all countries lend a hand in fighting against radicalism in the Middle East. Otherwise, our efforts can never be effective.

Then there is also the question of why the Middle East has become radicalized. I would like to say that there are three causes. The first is the failure of the region to industrialize and create meaningful employment. There are two kinds of countries in the Middle East: those that have failed to deliver on employment because of poverty and those who do not need to provide employment because of wealth. Both have failed to keep their young people in office buildings or in the factories, so as a result, the young people either go to the streets or to the battlefields.

The second cause of the region's radicalization is the failure to build nation-states with strong central governments. Though most Middle Eastern countries have established the structures of modern nation-states, their sectarian, racial and tribal conflicts have greatly diluted their identities as nation-states. The lack of authoritative central governments has finally resulted in poor social order and weak governance in the region, which provides rich soil for the growth of radicalism.

Several wars led by the U.S. and the West, including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and external intervention in Syria, have further undermined regional security and order. These interventions either destroyed or further weakened already vulnerable domestic power structures.

The failure of regionalism is a third root cause of regional radicalism. As an old Chinese saying asserts, an external power, however strong it is, cannot necessarily defeat an enemy that is deeply seated at home. Regional powers should play a leading role in fighting against regional problems, while external powers should only provide assistance.

Unfortunately, regional powers, particularly Saudi Arabia and Iran, have failed to cooperate and coordinate their joint efforts to deal with regional problems. Instead, the conflicts between the two have actually increased rather than decreased the region's problems. The dominant role of the U.S. over the last two decades had not promoted positive interactions between the two regional powers but has increased hostilities between them.

All in all, the cause of the Middle East's radicalization lies in its failures in industrialization, nation building and regionalism. Its regional radicalization has largely contributed to global radicalization. Radicalization does indeed have its social dimension, but it is fundamentally rooted in international politics.

What the Middle East urgently needs is not intervention but investment that comes with job opportunities, and the governing principle in the region should not be to divide and rule but to foster positive interaction between major powers.

The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://china.org.cn/opinion/jinliangxiang.htm

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