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The second Gulf war coincided with the major changes that took place in the structure of the international system. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the liberation of Kuwait pose many questions concerning Arab national security and the theory of national security in general. The paper is an attempt on the theoretical level to find out the conceptual changes in national security theory and their implications on Arab national Security. It examines the patterns of interactions under the multi-polar, bi-polar and uni-polar systems, under the uni-polar system there is a return to both the military and domestic aspects of national security.

The second Gulf war as well as the changes in the structure of the international system, i.e.; the superiority of the U.S.A create real challenges to Arab national security and any other security arrangements in the Arab Region. There is lack of consensus concerning the role of regional and peripheral states in such arrangements. There is also a strong trend of military dependency on the U.S.A for security and defense.