In the 1960’s and 1970’s, many Arab states, fresh out of stifling colonial occupations, turned to the West to try to jumpstart science and education in their societies. The ambitious programmes were quite successfully, until they slowly started to wane.

During these years, thousands would travel to Europe (mainly the UK and France) on scholarships, mostly sponsored by their local governments, to study the latest biological, physical and social sciences, and bring them back. These professors were then given positions in the fledgling Arab universities to ‘transfer’ what they learned to more people.

At the same time, professors from the best universities overseas were invited to spend some time in these Arab universities. It was normal practice to see foreign professors in these universities, mingling and working with their Arab counterparts, while teaching students from a very different culture.

Thus these universities truly became centres of enlightenment in the region. They were held in high regard and respect by everyone and the faculty and students themselves carried this enlightenment beyond the universities walls to the average person on the street.

Then, starting from the mid-80’s, the number of scholarships started to decrease sharply. The governments just weren’t as interested as before in sending people abroad for their post-graduate studies. Their argument was that “we have already received the science we need from the West, we don’t need to send people there now.”

By that time, there were several post-graduate programmes in the region and more opportunities for university graduates to continue learning locally rather than travelling abroad. Consequently, the number of visiting professors dropped drastically (because the governments saw they didn’t need them anymore and they cost too much). It is now very rare to see a non-Arab professor in a public university in one of the Arab states.

The universities were getting crowded, the quality of education was dropping, and that beacon of enlightenment started to wane.

The problem is that the governments got it all wrong (at least so in my opinion). The universities weren’t flourishing because they needed Western science at that period, they were flourishing from the interactions between the Western professors and their Arab counterparts. They flourished because, by it’s very nature, science was becoming an international, cross-border affair.

More important than the science that was coming from the West was fermenting a science culture in the Arab world after decades of marginalizing science in the past.

The Arab world is slowly realizing this, which is why the richer Gulf States in particular have started to collaborate with international institutes to promote science and research. By becoming part of the international science community, rather than isolating itself, they stand their best shot at realizing their dream of becoming knowledge-based societies.

These international collaborative issues do not need to focus on the developed world only. The developing world is just as important a partner, as it faces similar problems like the rest of the Arab world and thus the collaborations would be more meaningful for both parties.

And, as a bonus side effect, these collaborations give the best shot ever at bridging an ever-expanding misunderstanding between the West and the Arab world. Science is one universal language that has done more for diplomacy and promoting understanding than most other efforts exerted by the West so far!

Maybe its time for the West to give science diplomacy a real shot rather than half-hearted efforts.