Defensive Developmentalism In The United States During The 19th Century

During the 19th century, nation states throughout the Middle East adopted defensive developmentalist strategies that were intended to stabilize governments in a period of Western dominance. Under defensive developmentalism, the state imposed policies that were designed to centralize and extend its authority over its region and population. The goal of these intrusive policies was twofold. For one, they were meant to build up the state so that it can defend itself from internal and external forces. Furthermore, such policies would allow the government to adequately manage its population and resources. Accordingly, in order to accomplish the goals of defensive developmentalism, heads of state prioritized military reform to better defend both the
Finally, states tried to incorporate many standards in education, legal codes, and a verity of economic strategies to effectively compete with other nation states. In essence, under defensive developmentalism, the state became an intrusive force, through policy and action, in order to get its population and bureaucracy in tune with its goals. With this mindset, rulers financed scholarly trips abroad, promoted a national civic culture, and expanded their control into the social and political unknown. Nonetheless, while these policies occurred in good intention, their effects were momentarily advantageous, but disastrous in the long haul.
In order to solidify internal control, defensive developmentalists fiddled with all aspects of their state’s political, social, and economic structures. Since military reform was a major aspect of defensive developmentalism, it occurred early on. For example, fearing that the original military might refuse to cooperate with the regimes’ new policies, Mehmet Ali in Egypt disbanded the military and created a
Likewise, based off what he disliked or found peculiar, it is safe to assume that there were certain things that he did not want his fellow Egyptians to adopt. For one, he condemned the French for placing academic intellect over theology and spirituality (183). Therefore, it is unlikely that he would urge his native countrymen to adopt something so irrational (183). Secondly, Tahtawi would probably not want Egyptian men to adopt the indecent acts that occurred frequently between French men and women (234). Thirdly, since he shuns the French, and other catholic nations, for imposing celibacy on their clergy, it is improbable that he would advise Egyptian religious leaders to do the same. In fact, he believes that celibacy leads to wrongdoing and moral degradation (253). Moreover, al-Tahtawi found it strange that despite the variety of French foods, and the skills of their people, their food lacked flavor; and their fruits, other than their peaches, were not sweet (225). Additionally, he found it peculiar that French charities amassed a large quantity of wealth on their mission to raise funds for the poor (245). Consequently, based off what he found outlandish and objectionable, it safe to assume that al-Tahtawi would not have wanted his countrymen to adopt certain French ideas and