Pan-Arab unification required a Prussia-like leading state, not just ideology

Evidence

For such a process of unification, ideology in itself is of course insufficient. A state is also needed—a Prussia or a Piedmont—to initiate and complete the necessary political and perhaps military action. Among the Arab states there were several competing candidates for this role. The first to seek the role was Iraq, which obtained formal independence in 1932, and with it some measure of freedom of action. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 878

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the Prussia/Piedmont comparative frame used in other modernization and nation-state literature.