Yet the protesters' calls for political change are unlikely to to be on the agenda of this year's Arab League summit taking place on Sunday in Tunis - much in the same way the regional body reacted to the so-called Arab Spring in 2011. Tunisia, the host of the 30th Arab League summit, remains the only "success story" from those days, as the removal of its long-serving ruler has resulted in a functional democracy. "So if we define the Arab League by its imperative of fostering regional cohesion and resolving inter-Arab disputes, it has clearly failed." Arab and international condemnation was swift following Trump's announcement, but analysts expect nothing more than verbal denunciations in Tunis - in line with the Arab League's past practices. For Yom, the Arab League can be useful at a marginal level.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 30, 2019 23:57 UTC