The Politics of Arab Integration

This volume, first published in 1988, is the result of a major research project, the most important inquiry into the fundamental political structure of the Arab world. It is often argued that Arab states are arbitrary political creations that lack historical or present legitimacy and are unable to relate to each other in a productive way. It is further suggested that the demise of pan-Arabism merely underlines the inability of individual Arab states to integrate either domestically or internationally. This book, Volume Four in the Nation, State and Integration in the Arab World research project carried out by the Istituto Affari Internazionali, sets out to answer the questions of Arab integration, with articles from a wide range of contributors from around the world.

Giacomo Luciani, Ghassan Salamé

Part 1. The Cultural Dimension 1. Speech Diversity and Language Unity: Arabic as an Integrating Factor Zakaria Abuhamdia 2. The Media and Arab Integration Hamdi Kandil 3. The Role of Education in Domestic and Inter-Arab Integation Michael Suleiman 4. Attitudes to the Nation and the State in Arab Public Opinion Polls Tawfic Farah Part 2. The Economic and Social Dimension 5. Economic Interdependence and National Sovereignty Samir Makdisi 6. Migration as a Factor Conditioning State Economic Control and Financial Policy Options Ibrahim Saad Eddine Abdallah 7. Immigrants in the Gulf Countries: 'Sojourners' or 'Settlers'? Georges Sabagh 8. Migration and Political Integration in the Arab World Sharon Stanton Russell Part 3. The Political and Institutional Dimensions 9. The Impact of Palestine on Arab Politics Walid Kazziha 10. Israeli Interference in Internal Arab Politics: the Case of Lebanon Avi Shlaim 11. Integration in the Arab World: the Institutional Framework Ghassan Salamé