Constitutional enshrinement in this tradition signals decline, not enforcement, of principles.

Evidence

The inclusion of pan-Arabism in the constitutions of Arab states, alongside the guarantees of personal liberty, freedom of expression, etc., is perhaps a sign of its decline, for in this constitutional tradition, the enactment of political principles is a substitute for their enforcement, not a means of ensuring it. In fact, all attempts to create larger units by joining together existing Arab states failed. The most ambitious of these was the union of Syria and Egypt in the United Arab Republic. This was brought about in 1958 amid great rejoicing in the pan-Arab camp. It proved a difficult association, and ended in 1961 with the separation of the two and the resumption of a separate existence by Syria. Other attempts to create greater units by joining Jordan and Iraq, North and South Yemen, or Egypt and Libya have either failed or are encountering great difficulties. While paying lip service to pan-Arab ideals, the heads of Arab gov­ ernments continue to pursue their various sectional interests and these preclude subordination of their own states to larger centralized units located elsewhere. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 921

Categorization

• XREF: The observation that enshrining a once-mobilizing political principle in constitutions coincides with its practical decline echoes similar arguments about nationalism becoming codified/bureaucratized once its dynamic phase passed.
• QUESTION: Why exactly did the Egypt-Syria UAR, formed amid huge pan-Arab celebration in 1958, fall apart by 1961? What internal dynamics broke it so fast?