On 9 February 2023, the Arab World Center for Research and Advanced Studies organized a panel discussion entitled “A Regional Review: Reassessing the Concept of Arab National Security”. The keynote speaker for the panel was Dr. Bahgat Qurni, Professor of International Relations at the American University in Cairo. The panel was composed of experts and researchers specialized in various fields, including, Dr. Mohammed Ezzz Al Arab, Dr. Mohammed Abbas Nagui, Professor Amr Abdel Atti, Hussein Maloum, Dr. Hamdi Bashir, Karam Saeed, Mohamed Al Fiki, Dr. Haitham Imran, Mervat Zakaria, and Nadine Al Mahdi.
Major Transformations
Qurni indicated that the concept of security in international relations refers to the confrontation and triumph over threats. In its traditional view, national security was limited to military power, but shifts in the concept of security go beyond this military dimension to the broader notion of “human security”.
Changes in the concept of national security are linked to the rising influence of economic ties in global security studies. Indeed, in 1985, a UNESCO meeting first raised awareness of the existence of non-military threats, and by 1989, the idea had begun to gain momentum.
In Qurni’s view, the idea of non-military threats was popularized by two main factors. First, the end of the Cold War led to the emergence of political and economic problems. And second, the 1995 UNDP annual report referred to the concept of human security to emphasize the importance of non-military aspects of security.
Qurni tends to use the term “human safety” to express non-military threats to security, instead of “human security”, as it maximizes the importance of the sociological pillar in national security. Alternatively, the traditional concept of national security focuses on the role of the state, and sometimes state security is analogous to securing the regime.
However, although the concept of “human safety” refers to a sociological aspect, at the same time, it is quite general. For example, it does not address minorities, since it assumes that society is a harmonious unit, which overgeneralizes and does not encompass gender issues.
A Reassessment
In view of the shifts in the concept of national security in global studies, there stems a need to reassess the notion of security in the Arab region through a number of key points, identified by Qurni as follows:
1. Gaps in the concept of Arab national security: Gaps in the concept of Arab national security can be seen in recent history, including the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Israel after the October war, to end the state of war and the signing of the Camp David peace treaty. Jordan followed Egypt’s example, to create a unilateral trend in the region, with several implications on the concept of Arab national security. The Arab region also witnessed wars between Arab states, such as Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, as well as the crisis between Morocco and Algeria over the Sahara.
However, common threats lead to an overlap of interests and solidarity. This occurred during the coronavirus crisis when the world as a whole felt a common threat, which led to the prioritization of mutual interests over differences in the Arab region.
2. A traditional view limited to military security: The Arab region adopted a traditional view of national security that is limited to military strength. The League of Arab States and the Arab region continue to speak of Arab national security as a military concept, lagging behind non-military requirements that now exist.
However, the Middle East’s military aspect is still important as states in the region are among the largest importers of arms, not to mention ongoing internal crises in several states and the formation of paramilitary groups.
3. Outdated traditional threats to security: Arab national security is based on old common threats that no longer exist. The notion of security is based on confronting Israel as conceived during the period of prevailing Arab nationalism and the dominant Baath Party. However, this threat ceased to exist even before the Abraham Accords were signed between a number of Arab states and Israel in 2020.
In fact, Israel was no longer a threat to several Arab states, including the Gulf and Morocco, given that before the signing of the Abraham Accords, there existed talks concerning the Moroccan community in Israel. These conventions therefore demonstrate the shortcomings of an outdated ideation that Arab security is equivalent to confronting Israel.
4. The growing significance of internal over external threats: The Arab region is experiencing greater internal threats when compared to any external threat, especially in light of the so-called “new wars”, which occur within a single state. Traditional civil wars have given way to the proliferation of armed militias and separatist movements, and a growing incongruence between these militias and the national security interests of those states. Any internal threat also leads to internal divisions, thus weakening state solidarity, giving opportunity to external penetration.
5. The danger of corporate competition in the privatization of military force: A resurgence of rivalry between states followed the Russian-Ukrainian war. This may not apply to the Arab region in the coming period, although the region may suffer collateral damage through the increased seriousness of proxy wars, given the proliferation of militias and the supply of weapons in the region. The privatization of military force through the establishment of security companies such as Russia’s Wagner Group paints an even more dismal picture of political turbulence.
A Different Perspective
Qurni believes it is necessary to formulate a different vision of the concept of Arab national security that goes beyond military aspects. Arab instiutions, including the League of Arab states, must begin to consider the overlap between Arab perspectives and global trends in security studies to review its outdated conceptions, and recognize the various kinds of existing threats, without disconnecting from global debates. Indeed, the Arab region must aim to not only be aware of global trends, but also make their own contributions depending on the region’s context and circumstances.
Qurni pointed out that because of the objection to the traditional concept of national security, the role of the state and the military in human safety have been neglected. Human safety requires the state to play a role in the process of reform, and the role of the military cannot be overlooked given the current Russian-Ukrainian war, which dispelled the belief that, after the Cold War, wars in Europe would be a thing of the past.
Qurni also emphasized the need to strengthen state institutions, and to focus on the importance of sociological aspects, as one of the most prominent factors that limit the effects of external factors, and strike a balance in the security equation. Not to mention that talk of US military withdrawal from the region incites the need for a different conceptualization of security that defines the role of external forces.
The extension of the concept of Arab national security to “security in the Middle East” is considered to be a difficult stretch, given that national security must first be realized at the Arab level. Therefore, consensus must be achieved first among the Arab states, and then expanded to include neighboring states in the Middle East.