ABSTRACT
Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and much of their surrounding regions have been placed in the midst of a rapid and directionless geopolitical evolution. The end of the Cold War has upset many of the old faultlines in the Mediterranean and the Middle East and the strategic environment is more diverse and uncertain. An ‘arc or triangle of crisis’ emerged in the 1990s,1 extending from the Balkans to Central Asia/Transcaucasus and the Middle East. As a result, several regimes in the wider region that have not yet faced a legitimacy crisis could face one in the near future.
