Integration Theory: Case Study of The Formation and Collapse of United Arab Republic (1958-1961)

The goal of this paper is to address two main questions: 1- Can we explain the formation of unity between Egypt and Syria in terms of the quadruplet models of integration theory ("Functionalism", "Neo-Functionalism", "Communication", and "Federalism")?; 2- How can we analyze the collapse of this alliance? Our hypotheses are as so: 1- "Pan Arabic system" model, centered in Egypt, is more suitable in accounting for the emergence of the alliance as compared with the quadrupled models; 2- the "Political culture incompatibility" between the two countries will lead to the collapse of the alliance. To assess the above hypotheses, first, the integration theory and its prominent quadruplet models will be explained. Then, each of these four models will be evaluated with the case study in order to determine the degree of their adaptation. Subsequently, the adaptation extent of the alternative model to the emergence of the alliance is reviewed. Finally, to analyze the collapse of the above alliance, incompatibility of the political culture between Egypt and Syria is assessed. In the end, some conclusions will be drawn.