The Arab League has No Bark and No Bite

Abstract Along with a moment of peace in the middle of the 20th century came large changes in the world order; namely the rise of newly independent nations and the formation of supranational organisations. The Middle East was the first region to establish an intergovernmental security network after 1945 when the Arab League was created. While the institution has had several opportunities to prove itself capable of uniting and pacifying a region often described to be “without regionalism,” it has rather served as a tool in the toolbox of Arab nationalist leaders like Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser to solidify their political legitimacy and maintain a strict policy of non-interference. The League’s failure to provide a place for mediation and resolution of regional conflicts further undermines its effectiveness. The Arab Spring that swept across the region beginning in 2009 brought optimistic projections for the League’s capacity to deal with the conflict, particularly following the League’s suspension of Syria following brutal repression of demonstrations in 2010. Is the failure of the League a product poor design at its offset or could it provide a hopeful forecast for increased regional cooperation and peacebuilding in the Middle East? Without bark and without bite, the latter will be difficult to achieve.