--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the Middle East there are two kinds of…" description: "\"In the Middle East there are two kinds of regimes - those that could be worse, and those that couldn't be worse.\" — Bret Stephens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/bret-stephens-3977_east_in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-o_1292718.jpg" --- # In the Middle East there are two kinds of regimes - those… ![“In the Middle East there are two kinds of regimes - those that could be worse, and those that couldn't be worse.” quote by Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/bret-stephens-3977_east_in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-o_1292718.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/bret-stephens-3977_east_in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-o_1292718.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/bret-stephens-3977_east_in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-o_1292718.jpg) > “In the Middle East there are two kinds of regimes - those that could be worse, and those that couldn't be worse.” [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts regimes that are already terrible with those that are beyond repair, highlighting a bleak view of governance in the region. **In simple terms:** Some governments are bad, others are irredeemably bad. Key Takeaway Recognize the spectrum of political dysfunction. Themes politics governance regional analysis Mood cynical critical Type political commentary opinion When to use this quote - policy analysis - journalism - academic study Key Concepts authoritarianism political stability human rights Questions to Reflect On - How do we differentiate between merely oppressive and utterly failed regimes? - What criteria should guide international response? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kinds Regimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-regimes-4217193/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle east](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-east/) [Regimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regimes/) [Regimes Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regimes-worse-4217192/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Worse Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse-couldn-1190924/) ## Related quotes > [Critics of the war plans (including myself) have pointed to the disastrous political results that must be expected: Iraq would break into three parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uri-avnery/critics-of-the-war-plans-including-myself-have-pointed-to-the/) [Uri Avnery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uri-avnery/) > [Iran is a country that talks about, denies the Holocaust, promises to wipe out Israel, is engaged in terror throughout the world. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/iran-is-a-country-that-talks-about-denies-the-holocaust-promises-to/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [Muslims, scholars or not, are on the side of the oppressed and never on the side of the oppressors. Some scholars claim they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/muslims-scholars-or-not-are-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-and-never-on/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [ Without a deal \[with Iran\], the international sanctions regime will unravel with little ability to reimpose them. With this deal, we have the possibility… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/without-a-deal-with-iran-the-international-sanctions-regime-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I was as bad as it gets. What I wrote in the book, I was probably worse than that. I couldn't really explain how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-arvizu/i-was-as-bad-as-it-gets-what-i-wrote-in-the-book-i-was-probably-worse/) [Reginald Arvizu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-arvizu/) > [Problem was that we could make things worse but we couldn't make anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-north-patterson/problem-was-that-we-could-make-things-worse-but-we-couldn-t-make/) [Richard North Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-north-patterson/) > [We were married for better or worse. I couldn't have done better, and she couldn't have done worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/we-were-married-for-better-or-worse-i-couldn-t-have-done-better-and/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [“She couldn't do any worse, but then, he couldn't do better. So maybe it balanced out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/she-couldn-t-do-any-worse-but-then-he-couldn-t-do-better-so-maybe-it/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [What was worse, he couldn't tell her how much he thought he maybe might kinda sorta love her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/what-was-worse-he-couldn-t-tell-her-how-much-he-thought-he-maybe/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“Jake, anyway, and somehow that seemed far, far worse. The couldn’t”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raeanne-thayne/jake-anyway-and-somehow-that-seemed-far-far-worse-the-couldn-t/) [RaeAnne Thayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raeanne-thayne/) > [We're stuck. We're stuck between the East and the West. Between the past and the future. On the one hand there are the secular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-stuck-we-re-stuck-between-the-east-and-the-west-between-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of those blocks (that prevent the 'Middle East from entering the mainstream of modernity') is the orthodox tenet that the Koran and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-beichman/one-of-those-blocks-that-prevent-the-middle-east-from-entering-the/) [Arnold Beichman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-beichman/) > [These fledgling democracies in the Middle East, they're actually fighting for their freedom. And what are they rioting for in England? Leisurewear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/these-fledgling-democracies-in-the-middle-east-they-re-actually/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [You don't know whether he's thought through how this is going to affect the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/you-don-t-know-whether-he-s-thought-through-how-this-is-going-to/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) ## More by Bret Stephens > [The hater always suffers more than the object of his hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-hater-always-suffers-more-than-the-object-of-his-hatred/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Listen carefully to the global warming alarmists, and the main theme that emerges is that what the developed world needs is a large dose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/listen-carefully-to-the-global-warming-alarmists-and-the-main-theme/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > ['Democratic socialism' is awful as a slogan and catastrophic as a policy. And 'social democracy' - a term that better fits the belief of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/democratic-socialism-is-awful-as-a-slogan-and-catastrophic-as-a/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When you work at 'The Wall Street Journal,' the coins of the realm are truth and trust - the latter flowing exclusively from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-you-work-at-the-wall-street-journal-the-coins-of-the-realm-are/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [No adviser to a president is going to get his way all of the time, but at a minimum, that adviser should be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/no-adviser-to-a-president-is-going-to-get-his-way-all-of-the-time-but/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Every president inherits a mixed bag when he comes to office, and Obama's was hardly the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/every-president-inherits-a-mixed-bag-when-he-comes-to-office-and/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [There was a time when the conservative movement was led by the likes of Bill Buckley and Irving Kristol and Bob Bartley, men of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/there-was-a-time-when-the-conservative-movement-was-led-by-the-likes/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [We elected Donald J. Trump to keep us jittery and entertained. He's delivered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/we-elected-donald-j-trump-to-keep-us-jittery-and-entertained-he-s/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The United States survives so long as at least one of its major parties is politically and intellectually healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-united-states-survives-so-long-as-at-least-one-of-its-major/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Censoriously asserting one's moral superiority and treating skeptics as imbeciles and deplorables wins few converts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/censoriously-asserting-one-s-moral-superiority-and-treating-skeptics/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee, Republicans cannot win. Maybe they can't win with Rubio or Cruz or Kasich.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/what-is-absolutely-clear-is-that-if-trump-is-the-nominee-republicans/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Everything Republicans once claimed to advocate - entitlement reform, free trade, standing up to dictators, encouraging the march of freedom around the world -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/everything-republicans-once-claimed-to-advocate-entitlement-reform/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The best scientific evidence suggests temperatures are rising, and the best scientific evidence suggests man-made anthropogenic carbon emissions have some substantial thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-best-scientific-evidence-suggests-temperatures-are-rising-and-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The intelligent defense of free speech should not rest on the notion that we must tolerate every form of speech, no matter how offensive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-intelligent-defense-of-free-speech-should-not-rest-on-the-notion/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When George W. Bush decided to save the American position in Iraq by going against the advice of all of his wise men, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-george-w-bush-decided-to-save-the-american-position-in-iraq-by/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) [Explore all 118 Bret Stephens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## More East quotes > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I sound New York. I sound East Coast much more than a blonde person from L.A.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kavner/i-sound-new-york-i-sound-east-coast-much-more-than-a-blonde-person/) [Julie Kavner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kavner/) > [You don't know whether he's thought through how this is going to affect the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/you-don-t-know-whether-he-s-thought-through-how-this-is-going-to/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [I love love songs. But I love pop music as well: Girls Aloud, Kylie, the Spice Girls, East 17, Mika.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/i-love-love-songs-but-i-love-pop-music-as-well-girls-aloud-kylie-the/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) > [These fledgling democracies in the Middle East, they're actually fighting for their freedom. And what are they rioting for in England? Leisurewear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/these-fledgling-democracies-in-the-middle-east-they-re-actually/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [One of those blocks (that prevent the 'Middle East from entering the mainstream of modernity') is the orthodox tenet that the Koran and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-beichman/one-of-those-blocks-that-prevent-the-middle-east-from-entering-the/) [Arnold Beichman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-beichman/) > [When you're "East Coast" person, you are so insufferable, and you have no idea. And I was. One, because I was miserable, and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/when-you-re-east-coast-person-you-are-so-insufferable-and-you-have-no/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [We're in more wars today under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than under George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Yet they tell you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-re-in-more-wars-today-under-barack-obama-and-hillary-clinton-than/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-spirit-of-the-west-of-america-is-different-than-the-east-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [I remember my own life as a small boy, son of Jewish immigrants, in a janitor's flat on Orchard and Stanton streets on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-k-javits/i-remember-my-own-life-as-a-small-boy-son-of-jewish-immigrants-in-a/) [Jacob K. Javits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-k-javits/) > [We face a brutal enemy who will kill the innocent for one purpose and that is to gain control of the Middle East and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/we-face-a-brutal-enemy-who-will-kill-the-innocent-for-one-purpose-and/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [I certainly know that on our first tour of America in 1968, David Crosby came to see us backstage at the Fillmore East in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hayward/i-certainly-know-that-on-our-first-tour-of-america-in-1968-david/) [Justin Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-hayward/) [Browse all 2,277 East quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the Middle East there are two kinds of regimes - those that could be worse, and those that couldn't be worse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bret Stephens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-of-regimes-those-that-could-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "East" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-of-regimes-those-that-could-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/bret-stephens-3977_east_in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-o_1292718.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/bret-stephens-3977_east_in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-o_1292718.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/bret-stephens-3977_east_in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-o_1292718.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the Middle East there are two kinds of regimes - those that could be worse, and those that couldn't be…” — Bret Stephens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bret Stephens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the Middle East there are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-of-regimes-those-that-could-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/in-the-middle-east-there-are-two-kinds-of-regimes-those-that-could-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```