Opinion | Columnists
Smaller states won't disappear
A Kuwaiti professor has called for the GCC countries to merge, but this isn't really necessary
- By Mohammad Hussain Al Yusefi, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 July 2, 2010
The call made by Dr Abdullah Al Nafisi, a professor of political science at the University of Kuwait and a former member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, for the smaller Gulf states to merge with Saudi Arabia to form a united political entity has provoked widespread discussion in Kuwait.
Al Nafisi made the controversial proposal during a lecture that was broadcast recently by Al Jazeera. He suggested that Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE unify with Saudi Arabia, the largest Gulf country, so as to create a large, united state to resist the advances of Iran.
Perceived threat
The issue was raised in the wake of a recent US study which predicted that Iran has plans to absorb the smaller Gulf states.
Personally, I do not urge the unification of Arab Gulf states because these countries have been coordinating between each other as one political bloc since the establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Although the GCC experiment has made slow progress, it has proved to be the only successful Arab unification project. This is simply because the GCC bloc still stands, despite challenges, and is not mere ink on paper. It is effective, unlike some Arab unity experiments, the most prominent example of which was Egyptian-Syrian unity, which failed shortly after it was announced.
At the very least, GCC citizens can travel between the bloc's countries using only their identity cards.
GCC citizens can also choose to live in any of the bloc's countries without the need for residency visas, as they are treated as nationals in each of the six Gulf nations.
Yet the people of the Gulf region look forward to more well studied steps towards unification that yield good and fruitful outcomes.
It seems that fear and self-defence are the driving force behind Al Nafisi's call for unity. However, this call contradicts Al Nafisi's political analyses, as revealed through his statements, writings and interviews on Al Jazeera.
Al Nafisi has always said that western countries, notably the United States, have strategic interests in the Gulf region, which basically amount to protecting the flow of oil to their countries.
He believes that the US and western presence in the region serves their own interests. If this is the case, would the American troops stand idly by if Iranian forces invaded the Gulf states?
The survival of countries as independent entities depends on the balance of world power, regardless of the size of the countries in terms of their area and population.
If the issue was as simple as Al Nafisi makes it sound, then major countries would have swallowed smaller ones a long time ago, and countries such as Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands would not have continued to exist as independent states. This is not considering small African and Latin American countries, which are surrounded by powerful neighbours.
Moreover, there are many lessons that can be drawn from experiences throughout history when major, strong countries were defeated in wars after occupying smaller and weaker countries.
For example, what happened to the Soviet Union after it occupied Afghanistan? And now the US is drowning in the Afghan and Iraqi quagmires.
The balance of power in international politics is as strong as the law of gravity in physics, and thus the laws of nature ensure a balance between small and big countries.
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait under Saddam Hussain provides strong evidence of balance of power that governs the world.
Al Nafisi must consider the experience of his country, Kuwait, when it was conquered by Saddam. He thought it was easy prey, ignoring the balance of power and the interests of major countries in the region, especially the US.
Misunderstanding politics
Another question that should be asked is, does Al Nafisi think that a country's achievements are determined by its size and population?
If he does, he definitely misunderstands politics, and has not properly considered the balance of power that governs the world.
A good example of small populations achieving great things is Dubai's recent opening of a second airport, Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International, which will be the largest of its kind in the region, adding another feather to its cap.
The emirate of Dubai now has two landmark airports that will serve countless passenger and cargo flights every year. The question that arises here is, why are there no such projects in other Arab countries, which cover much greater areas, and have much larger populations?
Dr Mohammad Hussain Al Yusefi teaches at Kuwait University.
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