Now is the Time for the United States of the Arab World

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Netanyahu declared that the Middle East is undergoing tectonic changes, likening the current shifts to the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916—a colonial pact between Britain and France that dismantled the Ottoman Empire and carved the Arab world into the fragmented states we know today. The thing is, he’s right. The region now stands at a seismic crossroads: Israel is actively steering it toward a path of perpetual warfare and deepening fragmentation, while the alternative, a unified Arab future, is being systematically undermined. Yet, while the obstacles may seem insurmountable, facing immense forces determined to keep the region divided, this is precisely why now is the moment to ignite the vision of a United States of the Arab World.

The current territorial boundaries of the Middle East were largely determined in the aftermath of World War I, during the era of the Sykes-Picot Agreement and subsequent European mandates. Britain and France drew out arbitrary lines across the former Ottoman Empire, carving the region into states that did not consider the ethnic, linguistic, and religious differences of the populations within them.

Instead of fostering unity or representing the realities on the ground, these new states enclosed disparate communities within rigid borders, forcing Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Assyrians, Druze, Armenians, and countless others to adapt to political frameworks that seldom respected their histories or cultural bonds. These arbitrary boundaries have set the stage for a century of tension, mistrust, and internal conflict.

Now, with Assad’s regime having collapse, Israel seeks to shape the region’s future through further fragmentation. For decades, this strategic objective has been outlined in the Yinon Plan, a 1982 paper by Israeli journalist Oded Yinon that proposed dismantling large Arab states into smaller, more manageable entities to advance Israeli security interests. Yet, to counter this trajectory toward deeper fragmentation, the Arab world stands at a rare moment in history—one that offers us the opportunity to envision a bold alternative. An alternative that does not dismiss the painful legacies of the past, but learns from them. A modernized form of pan-Arabism aspires to unity while safeguarding our regional differences.

A similar undertaking has been attempted before. Egypt’s former President Gamal Abdel Nasser tried to unify the Arab world through a pan-Arabist project, a movement that sought to unite Arab nations politically and culturally based on shared heritage, language, and history. Under his leadership, the idea of a single Arab state captured the imagination of millions, taking shape as the short-lived United Arab Republic between Egypt and Syria. Although sincere, these efforts only briefly energized Arab identity before ultimately failing. The challenge of centralization, the inability to accommodate diverse interests, and the pressures of the Cold War led to their disintegration.

This time, it must be different. Instead of imposing a monolithic Arab superstate, the concept of a “United States of the Arab World” would adopt a flexible federal model—one grounded in cooperation while allowing for local autonomy and cultural differences. Rather than erasing the identities that have evolved over the past century, this vision would unite them to enhance collective strength, address shared challenges, and stand together in times of crisis. Each member state would maintain its own governance, protect minority rights, and preserve its unique social fabric. Yet all would pool their resources, negotiate as a unified bloc on the global stage, and coordinate defense, infrastructure, and energy policies for mutual benefit.

In this federated arrangement, the Arab world could shape its own future rather than remain confined by the Sykes-Picot model imposed by European colonial powers. The United States of the Arab World would stand firm against any renewed attempts at Balkanization by external forces, providing a clear contrast to the strategies of division and regional discord that seem to benefit Israel while weakening the rest. Instead of fragmented pieces easily pitted against one another, the Arab peoples—bound by language, heritage, and deeply interwoven histories—would emerge as a strong, integrated force.

This strength lies not only in unity but in the shared legacy that has long defined the Arab world. Ours is a legacy that once propelled global scientific and cultural growth for centuries. Recall the Arab astronomer Al-Battani, who refined measurements of the stars to guide explorers across oceans. In Basra and Cairo, Ibn al-Haytham revolutionized optics, laying the foundations of our understanding of light and vision. In Damascus, Ibn al-Nafis described pulmonary circulation long before it was recognized elsewhere. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, Al-Mas‘udi’s detailed geographic and historical work expanded the known world and inspired deeper curiosity. These remarkable achievements emerged from a thriving Middle East that we can revive again. If we once led in knowledge and discovery, there is no reason we cannot do so now. A renaissance of the Arab world is possible—but only if we believe in it and work to bring it to life.

Imagine a new golden age of the Arab world, one that spreads breakthroughs in science and innovation across the globe. Imagine a future powered by clean energy, where vast solar farms span our deserts, fueling thriving cities. Imagine high-speed electric rail networks outperforming even the Shanghai maglev, linking Middle Eastern capitals in a matter of hours. Imagine a region that offers high quality of life for everyone, where wave-powered desalination plants provide plentiful, affordable water, and scarcity fades into memory. Imagine top-tier universities that draw students from every continent, transforming the Arab world into a global hub of research and learning. Imagine observatories and launch sites in the Sinai Peninsula, where rockets soar into space and telescopes chart distant galaxies. In this vision, Arabs of all backgrounds honor their differences, flourishing together through trade, culture, and shared security. Violence and division give way to innovation, prosperity, and partnership.

This is not a mere fantasy—it is a call to usher in the greatest golden age the Arab world has ever known.

The loss of our autonomy to colonial powers has led to a century of division, death, and destruction. Now is the time to aspire to something greater. We have a rare opportunity to forge a modern pan-Arab vision—one that not only learns from the ambitions of leaders like Nasser but also adapts them to the 21st century. The United States of the Arab World could finally transform the long-held promise of pan-Arabism into a durable, dynamic reality that embraces ethnic minorities and fosters a just, inclusive future for all.

Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, did not personally construct the State of Israel. Rather, he set forth an idea that millions of Jewish people around the world came to believe in, sparking a chain of events that eventually brought that vision to fruition. In the same way, this is not a detailed blueprint for the United States of the Arab World, but a unifying idea—one that, if embraced by enough people, can trigger the very processes and decisions needed to make it real. The “how” of this transformation will emerge only after a critical mass of the Arab world’s collective imagination truly believes it is possible. And it is.

“Human history, with its forms of governments, its revolutions, its wars, and in fact the rise and fall of nations, could be written in terms of the rise and fall of ideas implanted in the mind of men. Every revolution started as an idea in the mind of some individual. That idea, having been shared, became a contagious thing, and nations rose and fell because of such ideas in the minds of men.”

— Neville Goddard, Imagination: The Redemptive Power in Man