Disintegration in the Arab Middle East reflects the region’s failure to find a path between the bankrupt, secular nationalism that has dominated its state system since independence and a radical brand of Islam at war with modernity. The fundamental problem consists in an existential struggle between utterly dysfunctional states and an obscenely savage brand of theocratic fanaticism.
事实上，伊斯兰国不过是深层次问题的表象而已。阿拉伯中东地区的分裂反映出该地区在独立后一直主导其国家体制的破产的世俗民族主义和与现代化为敌的激进伊斯兰教派之间找不到出路。根本问题在于完全无法正常运转的国家和政教合一、极度野蛮的狂热势力间存在不可调和的冲突。