ABSTRACT
The Arab world had increased its subordination by being more fragmented and hence less effective at the international level. After reviewing the literature on the global system/foreign policy linkage, this chapter focuses on the specific features of the Arab world, demonstrating the primacy of constraints in the formation of foreign policy. Despite the abundant cash of some of its countries, the Arab world is very much a part of the Third World. A basic component of Arab political culture is the belief that Arab nationhood will be translated into Arab statehood, and that the present division of the Arab nation into several states is both artificial and temporary. Arab cultural homogeneity has also led to occasional confrontation with the big powers. Arab-Israeli relations in the last thirty-five years have cost the Arab East six major wars, including the 1948 war at the creation of Israel, the 1982 Lebanese invasion, and the 1969-1970 War of Attrition between Egypt and Israel.
