Elza S. Maalouf - Emerge!: The Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East

Advance Praise for

EMERGE!

The Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East

As an evolution biologist I discovered an evolutionary maturation cycle in which species progress from youthful hostilities of competitive expansion to the harmonies of mature community, with our human species now at this tipping point. Elza Maaloufs insightful study, Emerge!, reveals exactly how humanity is reorganizing from just such youthful, competitive, win/lose political economies to evolutionarily mature collaborative models fitting the unique needs of different cultures. Her case studies beautifully reflect our natural evolutionary heritage and mandate! I highly recommend this book, not only to leaders in the Middle East, but also to conscious politicians in the West.

Elisabet Sahtouris
Evolution biologist and futurist
Author of EarthDance: Living Systems in Evolution

In the midst of the global chaos, comes a book that offers great hope for the future of the Middle East. Elza Maaloufs remarkable book Emerge! is a powerful and enlightened rethinking of a region seeking a new renaissance. She is a brilliant futurist as well as being someone whose work in the Middle East is having a profound impact on the lives of people in the region. Her work with women and Millennials is particularly powerful and evocative at this time of whole-system shift and change. This book is a definitive guide to transformational governance as we search for innovative ways to bring into our world a new state of human and social development in the light of so many challenges and unique opportunities.

Jean Houston, PhD
Best-selling author of A Passion for the Possible and
co-founder of the Human Potential Movement

We owe a great debt of gratitude to Elza Maalouf for this timely and important book. I believe that we are increasingly recognizing that many of our long cherished paradigms or human systems, conflict management, and leadership no longer are serving us well. This book represents one of the shifts in paradigms that we desperately need to address the complex challenges of our day. If you are interested in a fresh and significant approach to addressing conflict and issues of polarization in human systems, this book is a must read!

Russ Volckmann, PhD
Publisher, Tangent Publishers
Editor and Publisher, Integral Leadership Review

Finally theres a book that could serve as a flight plan for political leaders in every part of the world. When I was the CEO of Southwest Airlines, we always put the customer first. In Elza Maaloufs book Emerge! she puts the voter first and redefines democracy through a functional lens. Her work represents a rare continuity of a framework that started with Dr. Clare Graves and Dr. Don Beck whom I had the privilege of working with for many years. If you want to understand the complexity of Middle Eastern politics and whats needed to resolve this historic conflict you must read this book.

Howard Putnam
Former CEO Southwest Airlines and Braniff International
Author of The Winds of Turbulence

It is rare to find someone who understands both Arab and Western values and who can interpret them in ways that potentially can change worlds. Because of this, Kosmos Journal has distributed the work of Elza Maalouf globally. If you want to understand the deeper reasons that the Middle East remains in conflict, you will need to read her brilliant new book Emerge!. None has a better understanding.

Nancy Roof
Founding Editor, Kosmos Journal

Copyright 2014 by Elza S. Maalouf

All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

This edition published by SelectBooks, Inc.
For information address SelectBooks, Inc., New York, New York.

First Edition

ISBN 978-1-59079-286-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Maalouf, Elza S.
Emerge! : the rise of functional democracy and the future of the Middle East / Elza S. Maalouf.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: "Founder of Center for Human Emergence-Middle East presents a framework for conflict resolution during political polarization based on concepts of Large-Scale Psychology and theories of Levels of Existence, Social Judgment, and Spiral Dynamics. Examines democracy in an evolutionary, value-systems context, focusing on the critical role of Indigenous Intelligence to create functional democracies in the Middle East"-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-59079-286-5 (hardbound book : alk. paper)

1. Democracy--Social aspects--Middle East. 2. Political culture--Middle East. 3. Political socialization--Middle East. 4. Conflict management--Middle East. 5. Social psychology-- Middle East. 6. Social values. 7. Values. 8. Middle East--Social conditions. 9. Middle East-- Politics and government. I. Title.

JQ1758.A91.M33 2014
320.956--dc23

2014016339

Interior book design and production by Janice Benight

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TO MY DAUGHTER GHINWA
WHO I HAVENT SEEN
SINCE SHE WAS THE AGE OF FOUR
AND
TO ALL ARAB MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS
MAY YOU EMERGE!

Foreword

by Don Edward Beck, PhD

NEVER BEFORE HAS OUR WORLD carried such a rich tapestry of human diversity in the form of individuals, groups, and nations. Deep ethnic cores and beliefs that have long been repressed or hidden in every part of the world have now become visible. The oppressed and the marginalized are having their voices heard with the help of instant communications, social media, and the Internet. While the West has redefined politics through trade agreements and commerce, the Russians seem to be returning to policies of the Cold War. Everywhere we look dictators are being toppled, corrupt politicians are being exposed, and entire political systems are becoming ever more polarized. Add to that the decades of deconstructionism and egalitarianism in academia and popular culture, and one can see that the traditional model for democracy and its hierarchies of power and control can no longer serve the needs of a complex new world.

This is the chaotic reality we face today, and the tired and outdated tools of the old system can no longer manage the global intricacies shaped by seven billion voices. To understand the emerging trends and govern the future effectively, we need to embrace complexity models that see beyond the stereotypes of ethnicity, religion, culture, nationality, and even business interest and focus on the deeper codes and belief structures that cut across all these categories and identities.

A model that provides some of the answers for much of this emerging complexity is beautifully shown in this book written by my friend and colleague Elza Maalouf. I would first like to say a few words about Elza. After the events of 9/11, I was searching for a professional colleague who understood the value systems of the Middle East and with whom I can make an attempt to influence the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict. From the moment I met Elza, I was struck by her brilliance. It is as if she came prepared to grasp not only the complexities, but the nuances, both in English and Arabic. That simply amazed me. It was clear to me that my goal had been her top priority since she was a law student. No doubt her experiences in working in so many different cultures, including the Middle East, have enabled her to get to the core of any given issue in a microsecond.With a degree in law from Lebanon coupled with her unchallenged background in spiritual practices, and a keen and experienced business mind, we teamed up to form the Center for Human Emergence Middle East.