Abstract
The purpose of the article is to show how the type of political system (authoritarian regime) influences the shape of regionalism in the Middle East and to what extent this political system determines the features of cooperation between Arab states. To this end, a hypothesis was put forward according to which the authoritarian political system is a key obstacle to the successful integration and unification of the Middle East. Middle Eastern regionalism serves to protect and legitimize the political power of authoritarian leaders, whereas in Europe it guides to peace, stabilization and development. Authoritarian regionalism tends to reduce democratic ambitions and maintain the authoritarian status quo. In order to verify the hypothesis, the following research questions were posed. First, how is the type of political system related to successful integration? Second, can autocracies work effectively together? To verify the hypothesis and answer the research questions, the author referred to the theories of realism, constructivism, neo-functionalism and the typology of political systems to show that there is no single theory that could fully explain the processes in international relations. The conclusion of this article is that regional organizations created by authoritarian states are only symbolic and instrumental in nature and are oriented towards internal policy (the survival of the regime) rather than regional cooperation.
Highlights
The central argument linking regionalism with a type of political regime is based on the assumption that states that create regional organizations transfer part of their principles, behaviors and mechanisms of action from the state to the international level (Haas, 1961: 366–367)
How is the type of political system related to regional cooperation? Second, can autocracies work effectively together? To verify the hypothesis and answer the research questions, the author refers to the theory of realism, constructivism, neo-functionalism and the typology of political systems to show that there is no single theory that could fully explain processes in international relations
In the Middle East, regional institutions are weak and ineffective because they do not have sufficient powers that are maintained by the authoritarian leaders of their member states
Summary
The role and influence of a given type of political regime on regional cooperation has been gaining more and more interest in the study of regionalism in recent years. The central argument linking regionalism with a type of political regime is based on the assumption that states that create regional organizations transfer part of their principles, behaviors and mechanisms of action from the state to the international level (Haas, 1961: 366–367) According to this view regional organizations reflect the values and goals that guide their member countries in their internal policies (YassineHamdan, Pearson, 2014: 199). Arab regional cooperation mostly serves to protect and legitimize the political power of authoritarian leaders, playing a very limited role in stabilizing or ordering relations between Arab states. This is evident when member states of Arab regional organizations can not compromise on problematic issues or when they do not prevent disputes and conflicts between member states. How is the type of political system related to regional cooperation? Second, can autocracies work effectively together? To verify the hypothesis and answer the research questions, the author refers to the theory of realism, constructivism, neo-functionalism and the typology of political systems to show that there is no single theory that could fully explain processes in international relations
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