Europe endured centuries of violent religious and national struggle, culminating in the horrors of the two world wars, before achieving its current stable state system. The Middle East probably will pay less in terms of time and violence; but the idea that what emerges will necessarily be European-style nation-states may turn out to be a Western conceit.
欧洲经历过数百年的宗教和民族斗争，在两次世界大战达到顶峰，随后才实现了目前的稳定的国家体系。中东也许不必付出如此长时间和暴力的代价；但最终必然出现欧洲式民族国家的观点也许只是西方的狂妄。已故的文学理论家、公共知识分子爱德华·萨义德（Edward Said）甚至有可能将其称为家长作风的东方主义例子。