Reaction Norms? Understanding Arab League and GCC Interventionism in the Arab Spring

The surprising rebirth of the Arab League and the emergence of both the League and the GCC onto the international stage promoting varied types of humanitarian intervention in both Libya and Syria, as well as more covert efforts to promote dialogue and transition elsewhere in the region was one of the most interesting aspects of the Arab Spring. This paper examines the diffusion of global norms surrounding humanitarianism into the region and their expression through these two international organisations. It explores whether it was an alignment of wider geo-political interests which drove this dramatic change of approach by these organisations, with the norms simply providing convenient cover, or whether global norms have had a lasting impact on perceptions of legitimacy, humanitarianism and the importance of sovereignty. At the same time, it also examines the extent to which global norms have been mediated through local culture and been given a distinctive Middle Eastern flavour, and asks what role, if any, these organisations played in this process.