ABSTRACT
During the last thirty years or so the countries of the Middle East not only have experienced profound changes but, increasingly, have consciously engaged in changing themselves, through deliberate and planned development policies. These policies themselves have changed in ethos and emphasis, so that, whilst the first generation of plans were strongly orientated towards production projects and largely based on physical feasibility and economic viability, recently they have become more and more concerned with social desiderata – with values and with concepts of justice, welfare and equality. This becomes immediately apparent from a perusal of the longest sequences of development plans – in Iran, Pakistan and Turkey extending from the 1950s to the late 1970s – as well as in relatively short sequence changes, for example the First and Second Development Plans of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
