Stockholm has been trying to make its mark inside Europe and in the region which counts most for clear risks of war. While there is a long way to go, Europe has never looked so united for a common foreign policy toward the Middle East. So it is policy-review time in the two major blocs that contribute to defining the future of the Middle East, with little or no input from the region. In the absence of a concerted effort on a regional level to give some integrated orientation to that review, it is vital to venture from within two guidelines and their corollaries and applications. Mideast embassies in Europe and America are a natural conduit, but they are not sufficient.
Governments lack legitimacy, and Middle Eastern leaders are mired in double talk.
They are concerned about the perpetuation of their personal rule before any other matter. In such a context, the gap between peoples and governments has naturally increased, and the voices of the individual citizens have become further distorted when it comes to their governments' speaking for them abroad. As a corollary, open up to civil society. Do it openly, determinedly, with no shame. If representatives of civil society sound political, do not shy away from them.