Similarly, it would only take a few years after the Sultan of Oman first floated the idea that the GCC or Gulf Cooperation Council was created (in part) in the 1981 on the Arabian Peninsula in order to promote regulations in various fields such as religion, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation, and administration. In other words, there is a history of cooperation and covenant practices in the Gulf among tribes and among states, which should in theory lead more often to federal or more con-federal solutions.
As The Economist authors explained in their aforementioned article, "[M]odels such as mainly Muslim Malaysia [which is one of several functioning Islamic States outside the Middle East], or even Spain or Germany, could suit Arab countries [if they would study and look into the matter] . One day, more Arab rulers will seriously think federal. But the example of Iraq does not inspire them." [5 ]
On the one hand, as The National has also written, "There is a certain power to the [Arabic] word taqseemin Arabic. It means any form of partition of a country, and has a cloud of connotations that can invite memories of colonial times and conspiracies by western-backed religious or ethnic minorities." [6] On the other hand, if Arabs can go back to their tribal roots and religious histories, perhaps federal solutions can be found for each and every struggle in the Middle East--from Palestine to Yemen, from Afghanistan to Sudan or Algeria.
Creativity is needed throughout the Middle East to solve many of the political issues we witness from Israel/Lebanon to Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I mean by this: the kind of federal creativity used often by the current Sultan of Oman, for example, starting in the 1970s through the present age in moving his country from a civil war to a regime that ever more fully is increasing individual participation in governance, i.e. by expanding confederal-like structures to involve more and more people and institutions in the government through . He has done this while still being a monarch and the main one in charge. At the same time, he has stepped away from absolute monarchy over time by creating two representative bodies of government, which are in charge of amending and creating legislation, i.e. while similarly resurrecting tribal linkages to each office of government, which are practices dating back to the the Middle Ages. (It is also known that European federalism finds its roots in the same era and found its fruition in the Renaissance and reformation era. The current era in Oman is known as the Omani Renaissance.)
In both Oman and the UAE today, every citizen still has the right to line up and meet with their leader regardless of class or tribe. However, both tribe and individuals enjoy confederal association and representation in government.
We in the West may not understand fully the democratic and federal nature of Middle Eastern regimes, like the UAE, the GCC, or Oman, but the systems here on the Arabian Peninsula function far better than the regime which the USA left Iraq in 2010-2011.
Currently,there are a variety of constitutional and federal solutions for Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Israel. However, too few advocates in the Semitic worlds are following up on the options or promoting them. This fear of federalist solutions must be overcome as soon as possible.
NOTES
[1] Elazar, Daniel J., Althusius and Federalism as Grand Design, http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/althus-fed.htm
[2] Arab federalism, anyone? , http://www.economist.com/node/10122329
[3] Peterson, J.E., The Future of Federalism in the United Arab Emirates, http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Future_of_Federalism_in_UAE.pdf
[4] Peck, Malcolm , Formation and Evolution of The Federation and its Institutions , https://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf/perspectives/07.pdf
[5] Arab federalism, anyone? , http://www.economist.com/node/10122329
[6] Federalism could help ease Iraq s dangerous pressures, h ttp://www.biyokulule.com/view_content.php?articleid=5965
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