The misnamed Arab Spring has devolved into two societal conflicts that will determine whether the Middle East is able to join the liberalizing and globalizing world of the 21st century. One is the sectarian struggle between Sunnis and Shiites, with its bloody epicenter in Syria. If it is not soon settled, it may prevent the emergence of a new order there and in Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain for years — or even decades.
The other is less violent, but arguably more urgent: the battle for power among political Islamists and secularists in predominantly Sunni states such as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, as well as in Turkey.
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