ABSTRACT
In Chapter 2, it was argued that the growth of regionalism is a function of globalisation, the end of the Cold War and a growing trend favouring economic liberalism. The aim of this chapter is to examine how these trends affected the Middle East. Why is the Middle East lagging behind other regions in regional economic and political cooperation? Are there any political changes occurring in the Middle East that might raise the prospects of regional economic and political cooperation? The argument in this chapter will be based on the premises that developments at three levels of analysis-international, regional and domestic-seem to be creating an environment that is increasingly more conducive for cooperation.
