The Muslim Brotherhood's role in politics will be the elephant in the room as a polarised Arab League meets in Kuwait.
Arab League Deputy Secretary-General Ahmad bin Hilli said that "everybody considers the summit exceptional because of the conflicts in the Arab region".
According to the Kuwait News Agency, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi has said the summit will primarily discuss Syria, Palestine, and "terrorism".
The likelihood of unity on any of those issues, however, is slim. "It will be very difficult to come up with a consensus among the 22 Arab states - more so than usual, because it is very polarised by the Arab Spring between those who want to preserve the status quo, and those who want to change it," said London-based Omar Ashour, a senior lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Exeter.
A divided League
Ashour sees the Arab world as being divided into three coalitions. The first group supports the changes wrought by the Arab Spring, and includes Tunisia and Qatar, as well as the non-Arab state of Turkey.
The second group, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, opposes the revolutionary forces of the Arab Spring, viewing change as a threat to stability.
The GCC is capable of addressing any dispute or misunderstanding among its members within the framework of its own procedures and the wisdom of its leaders. |
Ashour also sees a third, pro-Shia coalition, including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and the non-Arab state of Iran. This third group is interested in preserving the status quo where their supporters are in power, such as in Syria, but backs revolutions where their interests coincide with those of the opposition, as in Bahrain.
These differing policies have led to a public rift in recent weeks between the countries of the Gulf, with Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE on the other.
Arab League summit hit by new rifts - Features - Al Jazeera English
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