There have always been tribes across the Middle East. Tribes form the principal building blocks of Middle-Eastern societies, and have shaped both the political structures and the environments of these states, developing over time into prominent policy-relevant actors who have made crucial decisions that have shaped the region. These tribes and their participation within them have reinforced the notion of individual involvement while also giving power to the legitimisation of current governments. Thus, unlike the West, how the Middle East functions can be based on informal institutions managed by tribal populations in a way different from the Western notions of an institutionalised feature of human society. This claim can be made because humans are naturally tribal and need the sense of belonging and support that membership in a tribe offers. Tribes offer a combination of strong and reliable social networks, but they also allow for tribal units to bypass often the cumbersome bureaucratic structures that are commonplace in Western society. Because tribes offer different levels of connection, the tribe is also buttressed by more pragmatic motivations for membership. Before the creation of the state, tribes relied on self-interest and a self-help system to secure their survival and sources of livelihood. Strength in numbers and the mutual loyalty from membership in the tribe helped ensure personal and collective security in a world where no single group monopolised force.