ABSTRACT

This chapter presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book explores facets of the contemporary Arab state that might explain its stability. The state appears to have used a number of non-coercive methods to bestow legitimacy on the political order and safeguard its structures. The most significant aspect of the resilience of the Arab state is the change in the role and self image of the military. In the 1950s and 1960s, the most destabilising sector of society was the army. The dominance of the military over the political process was such that political structures almost became hostage to the whims of ambitious army officers. The contemporary period has witnessed the gradual civilianisation of Arab republics, to the extent that the old dominance of the military over the political process seems to have been arrested or even reversed.