The study of conflict management and humanitarian action is important for security and stability in the Arab world because conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) come at a uniquely high cost to the region in human, economic and environmental terms and, consequently, on the rest of the world. Comprehending the complexity and individuality of conflicts in the Arab world and resolving and preventing them depends primarily on a deep understanding of the roots and results of the initial disagreements and grievances.

The distinctiveness of MENA conflicts can be attributed to many causes: political diversity, religion or wealth. A thorough consideration of the context will help in designing better-suited security structures that offer solutions from within the region.

Let us begin with the multitude of political identities that can be credited to the post-colonial nature of these states. Leaders of anti-imperialist independence movements often attempted to frame their struggles in terms of political identity, which were often cocktails of ethnic nationalism, territorial nationalism, and religion. Additionally, the post-colonial states that emerged out of colonial empires inherited existing undemocratic institutions, and consequently many post-colonial states themselves were non-democratic. Later, the abundance of political players reflected governmental favoritism and wealth in their patronage networks. For example, the Ba‘athist regime in Iraq favored radical Arab nationalists, while Egyptian nationalists under the leadership of Gamal Abd Al-Nasser suppressed other political rivals. Democracy is less likely to emerge where political power is monopolized and the exclusion of certain groups is perpetuated.

The MENA region is home to some of the world’s most religious nations and a number of holy cities; therefore the religious dimension of the conflicts there should not be underestimated. While religion may not be a primary cause of conflict, religious extremists and sectarians can contribute to conflict escalation, usually driven by perceived threats to their faith, the misinterpretation of scriptures, or sectarian divisions. Arguably, religion might also serve as a functionally equivalent base of identity and mobilization to nationalism. In the twentieth century, MENA governments have attempted to control religious authorities and utilize them for their own purposes by convincing or coercing clerics to issue opinions or decrees supporting their rulers’ political projects. In many instances, countries competing for the leadership of Islam, such as Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, have used sectarian divisions and clashes to further their ambitions.

In terms of its oil reserves, the Middle East is a second to none, which puts the region front and center on the scene of global conflicts. Between one-quarter and one-half of interstate wars since 1973 have been linked to oil, making it an industry with a big impact on security and stability. Moreover, oil invites foreign interventions in civil wars and intrastate struggles in oil-endowed countries. The repercussions of possessing oil do not stop at conflicts and shaping foreign policy, but extend to creating socioeconomic classes with no political or economic autonomy from the petro-states, which cannot mobilize within professional associations or other civil society organizations. On the governmental level, rentierism has given MENA states extractive autonomy from society. Oil-rentier states increase the dependence of the regimes on external powers and the presence of oil strengthens regimes’ clientelist ties, encouraging foreign military adventurism. Ultimately, the uneven distribution of wealth in the Middle East has also resulted in the emergence of petro-financed insurgencies and extremist groups.

This mixture of social incoherence, the suppression of dissent, poor governance and economic inequality were the catalysts for the outbreak of a wave of democratization in 2010 called “the Arab Spring”. In the years that followed, the nonviolent protests of the Arab Spring left a power vacuum in some countries that was quickly filled by armed groups, such as in Libya, Syria and Yemen. According to the UN, by 2016 the Arab world was the origin of 57.5 percent of the world’s refugees, 47 percent of the world’s internally displaced peoples, and home to 17.6 percent of world’s conflicts[i].  With such overwhelming statistics, the study of conflict management and humanitarian action has become an inevitable necessity.

The study of conflicts in the MENA region has provided us with tactical, strategic and transformational approaches to approaching the many factors contributing to the phenomenon. There are six main domains that require a particular focus: humanitarian intervention and disarmament (tactical leadership), reconciliation and conflict prevention (strategic leadership), good governance, and economic security (transformational leadership).

Among the many costs of war, humanitarian damage has the most long-term effects. With over 13 million children not in school due to upheaval in the region, long term environmental pollution caused by burning oil wells and food security endangered by unsustainable farming practices, urgent action is essential. Humanitarian crises in conflict zones require independent, well-calculated and constructive actions.

First and foremost, disarmament is an indispensable condition for any peace process. In a region with multiple stakeholders, confidence-building measures are crucial. Such measures may open the space for discussion about controversial and conflicting issues by addressing both subjective feelings of insecurity and the objective element of threat management. Security studies assists us in exploring viable set of tactics to achieve disarmament rapidly and efficiently. It is this security dilemma that makes possible genuine cooperation between states beyond a fleeting alliance in the face of real threats.

Second, reconciliation and achieving socio-political transformation certainly cannot happen overnight, especially in post-war societies. With the objective of achieving security and stability in mind, in addition to the multiplicity of political identities in the Arab world, it is essential that designers of social reconciliation interventions consider the varying sensibilities of the people living in the region. Conflict resolution studies help us analyze suitable reconciliation strategies such as creating and supporting grassroots peace structures, peace media, and collaborative projects. All of this helps restore mutual trust in the aftermath of severe conflicts.

Third, a careful examination of the archaeology of conflict in the region in the light of historical/cultural context can help in the peaceful settlement of disputes and, more importantly, in the prevention of future conflicts. The study of conflict management provides an effective precautionary approach to conflicts through the reading of early warnings and preventive diplomacy; peacemaking, including the use of good offices, mediation, conciliation and enquiry; peace-support operations and interventions; peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction; and humanitarian action and disaster management.

Furthermore, the study of good governance and a recognition of its main principles and constituents helps in eliminating the characteristics of bad/poor governance, enabling researchers to explain the behavior of autocratic dictatorships, identify the democratic needs of a country and anticipate the threat of violent conflict. Eventually, a civil war is a reflection of the breakdown or degeneration of a social contract governing interaction between various groups within a country.

Lastly, one of the main pillars of national security is economic security. This has a common appeal even to the most polarized enemies and can bring them to the negotiation table. In a region containing some of the wealthiest countries and most violent conflicts on Earth, resolving these conflicts provides a cheaper, and more humane, alternative to military expenditure. Economic security can be achieved by forming permanently stable relations with all structures and institutions, and thus, the need to ensure economic security should determine the priorities of regional administrations. Eventually, the region’s diversity will present an advantage, rather than a disadvantage, to economic growth.