Publication

This brief looks at the ongoing efforts to create a Joint Arab Force (JAF), what such a force would look like, and why its sponsors have been slow to implement it. In the last case, the postponement is attributable to 1) Saudi Arabian-Egyptian disagreements over the JAF’s possible role in Libya; 2) Algeria’s fear that it might be inappropriately used to invade other states; 3) Tunisia’s belief that the JAF, as a security instrument, is neither realistic nor achievable; 4) Morocco’s preference for a prevention- rather than intervention-centered force, and much more. Ultimately, the brief’s author concludes that the concept of collective Arab security may not be dead but its advocates need a ‘reality check’ on what is achievable and with what means.