Many European states have long and complex histories with the Middle East and North Africa. Today, it is clearly in the EU’s best interest to have a safe and secure MENA region.
The EU should abolish neocolonial attitudes and become more open to the perceptions and viewpoints of its neighbors and cultivate a relationship of mutual respect and equal partnership.
With the presence of ISIS winding down, the war in Yemen, increasing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and other regional issues the UN is able to fill the role of a moderating third party.
Iran plays a major role in regional issues and will continue to do so in order to protect or uphold the safety and security of the Shia Crescent. It is increasingly becoming the regional hegemon.
Putin saw volatility in the Middle East as an opportunity to expand Russian influence whilst keeping the gaze of the West away from regions with greater strategic importance to Russia.
China’s friendly relations with the governments of the Middle East, its rising influence, and its more assertive foreign policy look set to combine to enable it to play a more substantial role in the region.
30 years of interventions and more than 17 years of war has left both America and the Middle East with countless unresolved, and perhaps unresolvable, problems.
The Middle East is in a state of flux in which power politics and threats narrow states’ security interests to within their borders, which hampers the effective functioning of a regional society.
The Middle East is still not a region easily associated with cooperation or integration and is undoubtedly one of the most volatile zones in the world, dominated by crises, conflicts, and wars.
Due to its geopolitical importance, any conflict in the Middle East has the potential not only for destabilizing the region as a whole or upsetting the regional balance of power but also affecting global stability.
Prof. Adib-Moghaddam talks about his most recent book Psycho-Nationalism, Iran’s relations with the US, Iranian nationalism and the current role of political thinkers.
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