ABSTRACT
The capacity of the system to cope with or manage internal and external stresses depends upon many things, including the role of leadership, popular perceptions, and the latent adaptive capabilities of the system itself. The normal patterns of interaction in the Arab system are undergoing a fundamental change which poses a serious challenge to the integrative abilities of that system by threatening its ability to form consensus. Iran entered the scene through Muslim activism and mere inspiration at first, and then, through its war with Iraq, it accelerated the process of dissension and disintegration among the Arab states. The international interactions approach is a reliable device for describing, analyzing and predicting the processes of disintegration. Egyptian interactions with the US have been increasing, which suggests that a new sub-system is developing between Egypt and Israel under US auspices.
