The Political Economy of Regional Cooperation in the Middle East (Routledge Advances in International Relations and Politics, 3)

This book explores the current anatomy of regional cooperation and why it has often failed to take hold. It offers an alternative view of politics and international relations in the Middle East. The findings show that co-operation between many of the more open regimes, such as Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey can pave the way to increased stability in the region. The authors argue that focusing on international and regional factors alone is insufficient in explaining the prevailing instability in the region. Instead they highlight domestic factors as crucial to understanding conflict and co-operation in the Middle East. Using many examples and looking particularly at Turkey's experiences, this study shows why it is essential to mobilize domestic support for co-operation amongst countries and regions of the Middle East. Without such support from economic and social groups, inter-governmental co-operation is less likely to last. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Figures and tables......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 9 List of abbreviations......Page 10 1 Introduction......Page 12 Methodology of the study......Page 16 Defining the Middle East......Page 18 Civil society, democratisation and peace in the Middle East......Page 21 ‘Like-minded’ states, Turkey and the Middle East......Page 22 Organisation of the study......Page 23 Different forms of regional cooperation......Page 26 The development of regionalism......Page 31 Relative failure of regionalism in the developing world......Page 33 Changing global economy......Page 35 Changing international political scene......Page 37 Trends towards economic and political liberalisation in the developing world......Page 38 What is ‘new’ in new regionalism?: Towards ‘deep integration’......Page 39 Exploring prospects and constraints of regionalism in the Middle East......Page 41 3 Political economy of regional cooperation......Page 46 International cooperation: Theoretical basis......Page 47 The level-of-analysis problem......Page 49 The two-level game: A theory of interdependence between domestic and international forces......Page 51 Some conceptual and theoretical problems of two-level games......Page 57 Cooperation in the Middle East: the use of two-level-game perspective......Page 59 The economic structure of the Middle East......Page 65 Climatic characteristics of the Middle East......Page 66 Population dynamics in the Middle East......Page 70 ‘Food security’ in the Middle East......Page 75 The Middle East in post-Uruguay round world trade......Page 78 Trends in the level, composition and direction of Middle Eastern trade......Page 79 Sectoral breakdown of intra-regional trade in the Middle East......Page 93 Post-Uruguay Round trade in the Middle East......Page 105 Macro-economic structure and policy-making in the Middle East......Page 106 Conclusion: The need for structural reform and reconstruction......Page 115 5 Potential for regional economic cooperation......Page 119 Areas of potential economic cooperation in the Middle East......Page 135 Water issues......Page 136 Energy-sharing arrangements......Page 139 Economic cooperation in the Middle East: A conceptual framework and assessment......Page 120 A comparison of solutions to water and energy issues in the Middle East from a two-level-game framework......Page 141 Conclusion......Page 144 International Level......Page 145 Effect of the end of the Cold War......Page 149 Regional level......Page 154 Regional pressures for change......Page 157 Domestic level......Page 161 Changes at the domestic level......Page 164 Conclusion......Page 168 Political cooperation: An assessment......Page 170 Democratic peace......Page 180 Political cooperation towards democratic peace in the Middle East......Page 190 Conclusion......Page 194 8 Regional cooperation and the ‘like-minded’ states......Page 196 Turkey and the Middle East in an international context......Page 198 The Kurdish question and difficulties of cooperation......Page 201 Turkey’s urgent economic needs and the Middle East......Page 204 The water problem and the hydropolitics of the Euphrates-Tigris......Page 208 Entry into the Customs Union and its influence on ties with the Middle East......Page 214 Changing domestic dynamics of Middle Eastern foreign policy in Turkey......Page 218 Conclusion......Page 226 9 Conclusion......Page 229 Precautions and avenues for further research......Page 233 Notes......Page 235 Bibliography......Page 239 Bibliography of journals and newspapers......Page 253 Index......Page 254 This book shows that co-operation between the more open regimes in the Middle East, such as Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey, could pave the way to increased stability in the region. Ali Çarkoğlu, Mine Eder And Kemal Kirişci. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [236]-250) And Index.