Rival state ambitions sabotaged Arab unity against Israel in 1948

Evidence

Precisely what Arab authority was not clear, and one of the major factors in the Arab defeat was the disunity between the Arab states and in particular the rival ambitions of King ‘Abdullah of Transjordan and King Faruq of Egypt, each of whom envisaged an aggrandizement of his own realm. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 904

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels how reputation systems and alliances fail when individual rational interests override collective goals.