The problems of the Middle East are always somebody else's fault. Arabs blame their problems on centuries of foreign interference; their critics retort that the Arabs must shoulder responsibility for their own failures. The argument is about the allocation of blame: no one denies that the problems of the Arab world are deeply rooted and pervasive. As for the causes, both sides have a case: the problems of the region are the product of a unique combination of internal and external factors.

Brian Whitaker's book is very wide in scope: it ranges over the entire area from the Persian Gulf to North Africa but without sacrificing the distinctiveness and idiosyncrasy of individual countries. The purpose of the book is not to suggest what the west should do but to set out the "Middle East problem" in terms that go beyond common perceptions of the region. He focuses his attention on actual concerns expressed by the Arabs (such as despotism, patriarchy, tribalism, corruption, and inequality), rather than the concerns of western governments.

One of the many merits of this book is that it tries, as far as possible, to let the Arabs provide the narrative. The narrative comes partly from Whitaker's encounters as a traveller interested in the Middle East and later as a journalist reporting for the Guardian newspaper; partly from written sources; and also from a series of lengthy interviews conducted especially for this book. Listening to the Arabs makes a refreshing change from the all too common habit of western pundits of pontificating about the Middle East and lecturing to the Arabs.

There are, of course, deep historical reasons for what is sometimes called "the Arab malaise". Wherever they are and however wealthy they might be, the Arab people are haunted by a sense of powerlessness. Recent Arab history, from the victors' peace that followed the first world war, through the nakba,or catastrophe, of 1948 and the numerous wars involving foreign powers, has left a deep mark.

Whitaker is not oblivious to the part played by foreign powers in supporting tyrants and in deterring democracy in the region. His argument is that if positive change is to come, the overhanging cloud of fatalism and resignation needs to be blown away. He knows that to be aware of the past has value when considering the present. His argument is that "to analyse the past endlessly and blame the Other (often with good reason), as the Arabs tend to do, merely reinforces the sense of powerlessness and adds to the malaise rather than addressing it".

Whitaker considers that in order to take charge of their predicament, the Arabs must stop asking "How did we get here?" and instead say: "This is where we are. How can we move forward?" The advice is well-intentioned but utterly unrealistic. Had the Arabs been capable of stepping outside their history or of coping collectively with their predicament, they would surely have done so long ago. The persistence of the predicament suggests that preoccupation with the past is by no means the only obstacle to change.

Whitaker writes with empathy and insight about the many ills that afflict Arab society, especially in the realm of education. Education may not be the most obvious of the region's problems, yet in many ways it is central. The curricula taught in Arab countries tend to encourage submission, obedience and compliance, rather than critical thinking. Law students at Cairo University, for example, can buy a cheap 20-page summary instead of reading the lecturer's textbook. Over the years this has become known as ra'i al-ductoor  the doctor's opinion. This is what students have to memorise because that has to be their opinion too if they want to get high marks.

Education in the Arab countries, Whitaker concludes, is where the paternalism of the traditional family structure, the authoritarianism of the state and the dogmatism of religion all meet. The result is to discourage critical thought and analysis, to stifle creativity and to instil submissiveness. Education thus serves to buttress the status quo instead of shaking it. It makes young Arabs well-equipped to survive in an authoritarian system but it does not prepare them to be active citizens and to contribute to their countries' development.

Of all the problems that afflict their society, corruption is probably the one that Arabs complain about most. There is no doubt in the minds of most Arabs that corruption is rife. More than 90% of the participants in a survey for the Arab Human Development Report believed it to be pervasive. The report noted that in the five countries surveyed, "politicians, businessmen and high-ranking officials head the list in the spread of corruption".

In practical terms, as Whitaker observes, corruption has many harmful effects. It is intrinsically unfair, undermines democratic processes, denies equality of opportunity, and in general creates obstacles to progress. Resentment of official corruption has become a galvanising factor for opposition movements, especially Islamist ones, providing them with opportunities to claim the moral high ground. Rampant corruption in the Palestinian Authority, for example, was a significant factor behind the unexpected victory of Hamas in the January 2006 elections.

Whitaker has given us a lively, highly readable and illuminating survey of the countless things that are wrong with the Middle East today. What emerges clearly from his survey is that the root problem, at least in the Arab world, is the lack of freedom. He concludes that in order to achieve peace, prosperity and full participation in the global economy, the Arabs should embrace far-reaching social, economic and political reform. Few would disagree with this conclusion but one has to be an incorrigible optimist to expect real change to take place in the foreseeable future.

Even if the unelected and unloved rulers of the Arab world fall, they are most likely to be replaced by Islamists who are no friends of freedom. So the Arab world is caught in a vicious circle. It is difficult to see how it might turn the corner because there are no corners in a vicious circle.

Avi Shlaim's Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations is published by Verso.