Why Has The Arab League Struggled to Succeed?

posted on: Apr 1, 2021

By: Noah Robertson/Arab America Contributing Writer

The Arab League was founded on March 22, 1945 to strengthen ties between the Arab states as well as provide an international body for coordinating military, economic, social, health, and cultural matters between the states. These are ambitious goals for any organization no matter the size or makeup, but the founders of the Arab League wanted to make sure their voices and ideas were heard. Unfortunately, the Arab League has fallen well short of their ambitious goals. Some consider the organization a complete failure and say this outcome was expected from the region, but the reality behind why the Arab League has struggled to succeed goes much deeper.

What is the Arab League?

The founding members of the Arab League in 1945 were Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Other members gradually joined until the full 22-member Arab League we know today existed. In 1950, league members signed an agreement officially cementing their joint defense and economic cooperation. From 2004-2008 the League worked to cement the prevention of human rights abuses under their charter. The League has intervened in multiple conflicts, issued statements on a wide variety of topics, and acted on multiple other subjects.

As set out in Article 7, the only binding decisions by the League’s council are unanimous ones and any decision by a majority only binds those who choose to accept it. There is also no enforcement mechanism set out in the Arab League’s charter. The League discusses numerous issues, but their five main committees are: political, economic, social and cultural, legal, and Palestinian affairs. There are also four observer states: Eritrea, India, Brazil and Venezuela.

The League’s Successes

Though many bash the Arab League, it has found success, however, it’s often overshadowed by its struggles. Early on it focused on economic, cultural, and social programs. The League established multiple regional organizations such as: the Arab Telecommunications Union (1953), Arab Postal Union (1954), Arab Development Bank (Arab Financial Organization, 1959), Arab Petroleum Congress (1959), Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (1964), and the Arab Common Market (1965). The League also includes a statement recognizing Palestine in its charter and the PLO was recognized as a member in 1976.

Though these were important organizations to found, they have only had middling success and not nearly the impact that was expected. The preservation of culture and education about Arab heritage has probably been the biggest success of the League. They have successfully intervened in a few conflicts, with the most notable being the support for the overthrow of dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi. The Arab League also provides an important place where countries in conflict can go to talk things out, but it is this benefit that is also problematic because all that is done is just talking.

Where the Arab League Struggles

While some may call the Arab League’s struggles failures, failure is too absolute of a term and is not applicable in this situation. The League may struggle in many areas, but there are potential solutions and the intention is there even if the desired outcome is not.

In the Arab League’s charter, it states, “the Council will intervene in every dispute which may lead to war between a member state of the League and any other member state or power”. This promise has been broken on far too many occasions, especially when the conflict is between member states. Between 1945 and 2008, out of 56 conflicts, the League mediated in 19 and was fully successful five times – 9% of the time. This is not a good statistic and the trend has not been broken, as can be seen in current conflicts such as Syria and Yemen.

Syria’s membership has been suspended since 2011, but other than this symbolic step and general condemnations there has been no real action. In fact, some countries like Jordan and Egypt have hosted Syrian regime officials and the Sudanese president visited Syria. This demonstrates a lack of unity towards ending the conflict in Syria. The situation in Yemen is no closer to peace either and not much effort has been made to mediate. Previous conflicts between member countries have also been either ignored or handled with a purely symbolic resolution that member states often contradict with their actions.

Even on the Palestinian issue, where the League’s viewpoints tend to be less split, there still is no strong consensus or action against Israel. In fact, many members have given up on collective action and instead, have made their own peace agreements with Israel. This is a good example of the lack of unity and collective action within the Arab League. In fact, even when there are successful interventions in conflicts it is often because of the actions of a few members rather than the whole organization.

Why Do They Struggle?

The answer to this question is not an easy one and could be debated for days, but there are some main factors impeding the success of the Arab League.

One of the main issues behind all of the struggles is the lack of any enforcement mechanism within the League’s charter. Not only is there no enforcement mechanism, but any non-unanimous decision is not officially binding unless a country accepts it. This makes it nearly impossible to mediate internal disputes with any success. It also makes it nearly impossible for any solution to be lasting since there is nothing keeping a country from backing out of its commitment. There are countless examples of this in attempted boycotts, joint defense treaty obligations, broken resolutions, etc.

Another issue that holds the Arab League back is the lack of unity and distrust in decision making, which when coupled with no enforcement makes success nearly impossible. There are often factions within the League competing against each other in an effort to get their goals and ideas pushed through. This leads to watered down resolutions, weak language, and contradictions in actions and words. Even when discussions do not directly pertain to a League member, there is still a strong lack of unity that hamstrings the Arab League.

When combined, these two substantial issues with the Arab League render it a mostly ineffective organization. This is why critics such as Mohamad Bazzi describe the organization as a “glorified debating society.”

Looking Forward

Despite the somewhat depressing last two paragraphs in regards to the future of the Arab League, there is a way forward. As Michael Broning, a Foreign Affairs correspondent, argues, the League must transform from, “an ineffective forum for debate into a venue for genuine decision-making.” He is absolutely correct.

If the Arab League hopes to be successful and truly unite and bring peace to the Arab World, they must first create an enforcement mechanism for their decisions. Yes, this will mean members must sacrifice some aspects of their sovereignty, but is it not worth it for peace and unity? The League consists of leaders with strong personalities and beliefs who must be willing to compromise to bring unity to the region. These actions along with new priorities such as human rights and the protection of civil liberties will be essential to ensuring success.

With an enforcement mechanism and compromise, much of the Arab League’s other goals will likely be accomplished. A strong, unified, and more dynamic Arab League will not only greatly benefit individual countries, but also the region as a whole. These are not simple steps that must be taken to make the Arab League successful with a positive impact, but they are necessary and possible ones.

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