In other words, none of these countries, except Egypt, had ever been a discrete political entity. Until recently, their rulers had a common interest in keeping this Pandora’s Box of borders tightly sealed.
换言之，这些国家，除了埃及之外，没有一个曾是独立政治体。一直到最近，它们的统治者出于共同的利害关切，把领土疆界问题这一潘多拉魔盒捂得严严的。