Prologue

Introduction

1. Context and Framework

2. The Arab League, Structures and Evolution

3. The Arab League, Peace and Security

4. The Arab League, Economic, Social, and Cultural Co-operation

5. The Arab League, Problems and Prospects

6. The GCC, Structures and Evolution

7. The GCC, Security, Peace, and Defense

8. The GCC, Economic, Social, and Cultural Co-operation

9. The GCC, Problems and Prospects

10. The Arab-Maghreb Union

11. The Arab League and GCC in the Arab Spring

Conclusion

Select Bibliography

James Worrall is Associate Professor in International Relations and Middle East Studies, in the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Leeds, UK. His research interests lie in the broad fields of Security Studies and International Relations with a primary geographical focus on both the Gulf and the Levant. The thematic focus of his work explores Western relations with the Arab World, Gulf Politics and Security, Regional International Organizations, Counterinsurgency, Civil Wars, Post Conflict Reconstruction (especially Security Sector Reform), and Regime Stability and Legitimacy in non-democratic states. He has published widely on these themes in journals such as Third World Quarterly, Middle Eastern Studies, and Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. His previous volumes include: Statebuilding and Counterinsurgency in Oman: Political, Military and Diplomatic Relations at the End of Empire and (with Simon Mabon and Gordon Clubb) Hezbollah: From Islamic Resistance to Government.

This volume is a key text for understanding the major regional international organizations of the Middle East. Analysing the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Arab-Maghreb Union in a concise and accessible format, it explores their successes and failures across their full range of activities (economic, social, and political), while contextualising the reasons why many consider that these organizations have stalled.
The book:
- assesses the reasons why IOs in the Middle East are under-developed relative to neighbouring regional organizations;
- explores their history, evolution, and structure, while considering the successes and failures of each IO;
- analyses the reasons for the specific difficulties faced by each organization through the context of intra-regional relations;
- develops a new framework for analysing the forces that have shaped these bodies and challenges the existing narrative that largely ignores the achievements and prospects of the organizations;
- considers the likely impact of the Arab Spring upon the future development of these frequently overlooked regional international organizations.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Middle East studies, international organizations, and global governance, as well as diplomats and policymakers