‘Strength lies in diverse origins'

Arab Times

07-05-2025

AMERICAN commentator Fareed Zakaria stated on his TV show 'My Take' that President Trump's tariff policies have garnered significant attention due to the huge losses they have caused. He further stated that Trump's policies on immigration, education, and research funding are likely to have an even more negative impact in the long run. America has become so technologically advanced that some might believe it has always been at the forefront since its inception.
In reality, the United States lagged behind others in scientific achievements, with Germany and Britain leading in Nobel Prizes in science. However, three key factors changed the situation in the mid-20th century. The first factor was Hitler's rise to power in Germany and his racist policies, which forced generations of the best scientific minds, most of them Jews, to flee to America. These individuals went on to form the backbone of America's scientific establishment.
Also, the U.S. continued to attract top foreign scientists and exceptional students from countries like China and India, many of whom chose to stay in the country after their studies. The second factor was the devastation caused by World War II. Germany, Britain, France, and Russia emerged from the war exhausted, with shattered economies and millions of human casualties. In contrast, the United States suffered minimal damage, which positioned it to dominate the world economically, militarily, and technologically.
The third factor was the U.S. government's decision to allocate the largest budget and subsidy for scientific research, reaching 2.4 percent of its gross national income in 1953. This opened the door for both public and private American universities to compete for these subsidies. This generous strategy, coupled with the absolute freedom granted to educational institutions, led to the creation of the modern American scientific model, which arguably is the most successful in history.
However, these factors have recently been abandoned, and the American administration has begun threatening educational institutions with subsidy cuts if they violate its policies regarding the structure of scientific research, which is unprecedented in the United States.
Even government research centers have not been immune to government interference. Over the past 10 years, China has taken the lead and managed to secure the largest share of patent registrations, surpassing the United States. Among the world's top 500 universities, China now has 76, up from 27 in 2010. In contrast, the United States' share of the world's top 500 universities has decreased from 154 to 133. One important area where China has yet to surpass America is the latter's ability to attract foreign talent and expertise. Between 2000 and 2014, immigrants to the U.S. made up one-third of Nobel Prize winners.
Their percentage rose to 40 percent among computer software developers and 62 percent in disease prevention. However, this trend has been largely reversed in recent years, coinciding with the arrest and deportation of large numbers of foreign students, as well as FBI investigations into Chinese researchers. As a result, many have chosen to migrate to Canada, Australia, and Europe. The prestigious scientific journal 'Nature' conducted a survey among its participants, the majority of whom are scientists, asking whether they plan to migrate. The results revealed that 75 percent of the 1,600 participants answered affirmatively.
It is important to note that these scientists represent America's true strength, built over more than 100 years, and which has only started to be dismantled in the past 100 days. Throughout its history, Kuwait has distinguished itself, compared to its Gulf Arab neighbors, as a country of immigrants. The contributions of these immigrants to Kuwaiti society and its wider environment over several decades have far surpassed those made by others in the maritime, commercial, cultural, and artistic fields.
This is a natural result of the blending of the diverse components of a multi-ethnic and multicultural society. For this reason, the naturalization of exceptionally qualified individuals should not be stopped, especially since most Gulf Arab states are striving to achieve this goal by offering various incentives. We, too, are in desperate need of injecting new blood and fresh ideas into the nation's veins. We must not forget that our strength lies in our diverse backgrounds and our shared loyalty to the homeland and devotion to our political leadership.