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University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. WHY HAS THE ARAB LEAGUE FAILED AS A REGIONAL SECURITY ORGANISATION? An analysis of the Arab League’s conditions of emergence, characteristics and the internal and external challenges that defined and redefined its regional security role Fady Y. ABUSIDUALGHOUL submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Peace Studies School of Social and International Studies University of Bradford 2012 Fady Y. ABUSIDUALGHOUL Title: Why has the Arab League failed as a Regional Security Organisation? Keywords: Arab League, Regional Security, Regional Organisations, Middle East security, Arab Relations, Middle East conflicts ABSTRACT This study presents a detailed examination of the Arab League’s history, development, structure and roles in an effort to understand the cause of its failure as a regional security organisation. The research’s point of departure is a questioning of the nature and scope of this failure in terms of the interplay between the conditions under which it was formed and the many actors and dynamics that had a long term-impact on the prospects for the League. To this end, the study looks at the League’s conditions of emergence and Arab-Arab relations with the focus on Arab national security as the main concept determining its security role. The research synthesises methods of analysis from the existing literature and schools of thought so as to identify where and why failure and success occurred in relation to international relations theories, the security and international organisations literature, and comparable international models. The development and conditions affecting the League as discussed in the research demonstrate that none of the existing broad theories or approaches can fully explain the League’s failure; however, the constructivist approach, although never before applied in this context, is shown to offer the most relevant approach for explaining this organisation and its unique parameters. The research also examines the role played by the Arab League in regional peacekeeping and conflict prevention in the context of Arab national security, with Palestine as a case study. i DEDICATION To the spirit of Mr Jamil Habbas, an honourable and generous man To my children Yasser and Jennah, may this work help direct you in life better than it did me ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing this acknowledgment is particularly difficult considering the length of time it took me to complete this research. Over the past ten years, I met many people who inspired me, argued with me, shared their knowledge with me and helped me directly or indirectly to complete this work. I am keen not to forget anyone who contributed to the completion of this work and I ask forgiveness from those whom I did forget. My first words of thanks go to my wife Vikki who stood by me through thick and thin, rich and poor, health and sickness, and who did much more than a cup of tea. Without you I could not have made it. Very special thanks goes to my friend and supervisor Dr Karen Abi-Ezzi who made obstacles disappear, who penetrated bureaucracy and made it possible for this research to see the light. Thank you, Karen. I am particularly grateful for Professor Jim Whitman; the person who supervised me through the end, who identified my mistakes and helped me correct them, who saw my strengths and helped me show them. Thank you for making it happen. To all the Peace Studies professors, thank you for your inspiration, thoughts and encouragement. Tom Woodhouse, Paul Rogers, Philip Lewis, to name but a few. Mom and Dad, thank you for your prayers and thoughts. Finally, I cannot forget the special friends who debated and discussed my research with me. The ones who were generous with their time, intellect and friendship. To Dr Rick Wallace, thank you my friend for all the time you invested in proof reading my work, I am forever grateful. To Dr Olivier Urbain, your support, concern, words of encouragement and philosophy were invaluable. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... i Dedication ........................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................... iv Abbreviations ................................................................................................... viii Introduction ....................................................................................................... x Conceptual foundations ................................................................................... x 1. Arab league ‘failures’ or ‘failure’? ........................................................... x 2. The Arab national security concept ..................................................... xiv Methodology .................................................................................................xvii 1. Theoretical perspective: Constructivism .............................................xvii 2. Field work interviews........................................................................... xxi Practical difficulties ......................................................................................xxiv Chapter One ...................................................................................................... 1 The Arab League: Conditions of emergence ...................................................... 1 Practical steps towards unity ......................................................................... 10 Alexandria Protocol........................................................................................ 12 Charter of the Arab League ........................................................................... 15 From Unity to Independence ......................................................................... 19 Arab Nationalism ........................................................................................... 22 Challenges Facing the League at Birth .......................................................... 24 Inter-Arab Alliances and their Impact on the Arab League ............................ 26 Baghdad Pact ................................................................................................ 27 Shifts in Arab states’ Alignments ................................................................... 30 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 36 Chapter Two .................................................................................................... 41 Theories of Regionalism, Security and Regional Security ................................ 41 Region and Regionalism ................................................................................ 42 Security and National Security ....................................................................... 47 Constructivist approaches to security ............................................................ 52 The State .................................................................................................... 55 Regional Security Theories ............................................................................ 60 iv 1. Security Interdependence .................................................................... 60 2. Amity-Enmity ........................................................................................ 63 3. Security Complex Theory ..................................................................... 65 4. Systemic Theories ............................................................................... 69 5. Domestic .............................................................................................. 72 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 74 Chapter Three .................................................................................................. 78 Arab National Security ...................................................................................... 78 The Arab League and Arab National Security ............................................... 81 1. Arab Peace & Security Council ............................................................ 84 2. Arab national security as an alternative to regional security ................ 87 3. Problems facing Arab national security ................................................ 95 4. Arab national security requirements .................................................. 100 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 103 Chapter Four ................................................................................................. 112 Regional organisations and regional security ................................................. 112 Realist views ................................................................................................ 120 Constructivist theories of international relations .........................................