Orientalism, Neo orientalism, and New Barbarism
Lorella Ventura discussed Arab Spring and Orientalist stereotypes of the West. She said, according to Western countries, protests resulting from Arab Spring are a movement toward the evolution of democracy in the region against their monarchist governments, given that, in most cases, military intervention supported Arab Spring incidents. Ventura then emphasizes that this interpretation is a strong example of the existence of Orientalism. Nast (2021) defines Orientalism as a “depiction of the Eastern world” derived from typical social constructs and stereotypes about Arab countries. For example, ‘oriental despotism’ in particular and the ‘image of the Arab world’ in general, which relies on an ethnocentric approach as it comes from Western modernity and reflects if democracy is the only measure of progress. Ventura stresses that the issue of viewing Arab Spring through the lens of orientalist features is like undermining the credibility and reliability of the movement. This interpretation also shows that Western countries needed to develop more sound knowledge about Arab countries and their relationship with the Arab World.
Dag Tuas Tad talked about neo-orientalism and new barbarism thesis and features of symbolic violence in the Middle East according to Western ideology, which associates violence with Orientalism. Neo-orientalism is an incarnation of the Orientalist mindset used by Eastern literature to critique the attitude of the West toward Muslims, Islam, and the Arab World, especially after the incident of 9/11.
Tuas Tad said those defining terrorism and the Arab mind have similar mindsets because both views believe violence results from the backwardness of cultures. He calls this stereotypical thinking ‘new barbarism.’ The new barbarism thesis refers to political violence, which ignores political and economic context and interest when narrating violence rather than reflecting that violence is a by-product of traits and prevailing culture. According to Tuas Tad, orientalist and new barbarism thoughts can be called hegemonic strategies, especially when views of the enemy help legitimize colonial economics continuously and political projects. He used the example of conflict between Israel and Palestine because Israel is crippling the rights of Palestinians, continuing violence against them. Still, Western countries are not applying the stereotype of Orientalism to them.
Nevertheless, Ukraine’s “Revolution of Dignity” movement is the most recent example. It negates that Orientalism gives heed to violence and is only a Western-created stereotype.