The League of Arab States and Regional Security: Towards an Arab Security Community?

This article examines the historical role of the League of Arab States in regional security through the prism of order and sovereignty in the Arab states system. It argues that the League is a product of the dilemma between state sovereignty and Arab nationalism that beset the Arab regional order for decades. Strained by role conflict, Arab rulers opted for a weak inter-regional organisation that they subsequently undermined, exploited or promoted for statist purposes. However over time, the consolidation of state sovereignty and the decline of pan-Arabism have led to the emergence of a more stable regional order. This creates more opportunities for the development of a collective security framework, in which the Arab League could play an important role.     

The Arab League in Lebanon: 2005–2008

Contrary to expectations, the Arab League has emerged as an active player in the Middle East region over the past decade. The League's roles in negotiations to end the 2006 Israel–Lebanon War and in the brokering of the 2008 Doha Agreement between warring Lebanese factions present two instances of ‘partial’ and ‘direct’ contributions to success in resolving major extra-systemic and minor internal conflicts. These developments are part of a global trend of the regionalization or decentralization of security in the post-Cold-War context.