Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Middle East Publication Year within 25 Years

2761. Energy in the Mediterranean and the Gulf. Opportunities for Synergies

Author:
Naji Abi-Aad
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Mediterranean is expected to play an increasingly important role in global energy flows which might result in a greater European dependence on North African supplies and less on the Gulf. At the same time, potential synergies are said to exist in such fields as the development of renewable energy sources, and investment required to meet domestic electricity demand. As far as oil and refined products are concerned, the volume and direction of oil flows to and through the Mediterranean will be important, especially as an expected rise in transport in the near future contains serious security implications. As a result, an increased focus on the development of a pipeline network between the Mediterranean and Europe might open possibilities for Gulf involvement. The same could apply for the supply of natural gas to Europe. In the field of power generation, the improved ability to transmit electricity over longer distances opens the door for establishing a continuum of interconnection from the Gulf to Europe through the Mediterranean and the ability to serve markets along those connections. Finally, the rapidly rising awareness of the need for renewable energy sources suggests an additional field of cooperation.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa

2762. EU and GCC Strategic Interests in the Mediterranean: Convergence and Divergence

Author:
Roberto Aliboni
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
While sharing a number of interests in the Mediterranean and Middle East region, the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council have pursued different patterns of strategic concerns and relations. Nevertheless, a potential for developing common EUGCC perspectives exists, as the Mediterranean and Middle East region are both part of the EU and the GCC neighbourhood and are a common location for investment. Diplomatic convergence on a number of issues could contribute to improving security and political cooperation as well, despite the fact that this is stymied by divergent views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

2763. Bargaining in the Saudi bazaar: Common ground for a post-2012 climate agreement?

Author:
Mari Luomi
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Saudi Arabia's interests vis-à-vis international climate policy are fundamentally tied to its ownership of the world's largest proven oil reserves and its political economy, which depends on oil revenues for stability and survival. The 'discrimination' against carbon dioxide and fossil fuels is a recurring theme that reflects the country's disapproval of any constraints on global oil consumption. The Saudi position has evolved around four pillars: preserving oil revenues, receiving compensation for the adverse impacts of climate change mitigation, avoiding commitments, and acquiring technology and capacity for adaptation. Saudi Arabia's influence in the negotiations stems from a long-term strategy of obstructionism, the ultimate aim of which is to prevent an agreement from emerging. The country's status as a developing country is increasingly contested due to its high GDP per capita, while its calls for compensation for losses in oil revenue are strongly criticised, but Saudi Arabia still faces major development challenges, economic diversification being the most pressing. Although Saudi Arabia's position towards adaptation requires adjusting, there are clear points of dialogue with the West, including technology transfer and capacity building.
Topic:
Climate Change and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, and Saudi Arabia

2764. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces

Author:
Steven R. Ward
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Georgetown University Press
Abstract:
In 1978 Iran And Its Armed Forces seemed to stand at the peak of their power and prestige in the modern era. Bountiful oil revenues and a strategic position overlooking the vital Persian Gulf oil export routes boosted Iran's standing in the world. Cold War competition made Iran a recipient of Western and Soviet arms and attention. Iran had just passed Egypt, a far more populous country, in having the largest armed forces in the Middle East. In fact, the Iranian military was outpacing some large European countries in the quantity and sophistication of its equipment. Iran was the only country other than the United States to possess the state- of- the- art F- 14 Tomcat fighter. Iran's military also was funding the development of the advanced British Challenger tank with its then revolutionary Chobham composite armor. These programs rep- resented only the middle stages of an extravagant rearmament process, with numerous sophisticated ground, air, and naval systems on order. In addition, the Iranian armed forces, the Artesh, had polished their reputation by gaining combat experience battling rebels in neighboring Oman and by participating in a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East

2765. Harmonizing Foreign Policy: Turkey, the EU and the Middle East (Mesut Ozcan)

Author:
Kutbettin Kilic
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
Turkish foreign policy has made a remarkable achievement in recent years, raising the influence of Turkey in surrounding critical regions, extending from the Balkans to the Middle East and as well as in international politics. With Harmonizing Foreign Policy: Turkey, the EU and the Middle East, Mesut Ozcan sets about to explicate a part of this picture, that is, the shift in Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East, which, the author argues, becomes more visible in policies towards Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 1999 is the beginning of the aforementioned shift, according to Ozcan, a year in which the EU gave Turkey a candidature status and Abdullah Ocalan, the leader and founder of the PKK, was arrested. This was also a year that provided Turkish decision makers with a democratic opening in foreign policy—a shift from security-oriented foreign policy to a democracy-oriented one. From that time onwards, Turkey, according to Ozcan, has been exposed to the process of Europeanization of foreign policy, a process that has taken Turkey away from a foreign policy under American influence.
Political Geography:
America, Europe, Turkey, and Middle East

2766. Ephrat: Spiritual Wayfarers, Leaders in Piety: Sufis and the Dissemination of Islam in Medieval Palestine

Author:
Diana Abouali
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Spiritual Wayfarers, Leaders in Piety: Sufis and the Dissemination of Islam in Medieval Palestine, by Daphna Ephrat. Cambridge, MA: Center for Middle Eastern Studies of Harvard University, Harvard University Press, 2008. xi + 201 pages. Bibliography to p. 218. Index to p. 223. $19.95 paper. Diana Abouali is assistant professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures at Dartmouth College.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Middle East, Asia, and Palestine

2767. Blanford: Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East

Author:
Amer Mohsen
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Following the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, a mythology was instantly created around his person and legacy. Used extensively in the political campaign that became known as the “Cedar Revolution,” television programs, documentaries, and songs idolizing the ex-prime minister also started to fill the Lebanese airwaves and canonize Hariri as an unadulterated symbol of Lebanese nationalism, independence, and modernity. Nicholas Blanford's Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East , far from casting a critical eye on this mode of history-writing, reproduces elements of this mythology.
Political Geography:
New York and Middle East

2768. Settlement Monitor

Author:
Geoffrey Aronson
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section covers items—reprinted articles, statistics, and maps—pertaining to Israeli settlement activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items have been written by Geoffrey Aronson for this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletter published by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the foundation for permission to draw on its material.
Political Geography:
Washington, Middle East, Israel, and Gaza

2769. Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in the Twentieth Century

Author:
Juan Cole
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Iraq and Israel/Palestine may on the surface appear to be very different societies with little in common. Iraq has its Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Shiites, and its modern history has been a struggle over monarchy, republicanism, and the one-party state. Israel and Palestine are Jewish, Sunni Arab, and Christian Arab, and their central struggle has been over the shape of the Zionist state and the question of Palestinian statelessness. Iraq is a hydrocarbon state, while Israel and Palestine have diverse economies. The two can fruitfully be viewed through the same prism in two ways, however. On a comparative level, they share much in common, being multi-ethnic states with a background in Ottoman and British colonial administrative practices. Their fragility and ethnic instability have driven both internal civil wars and wars with neighbors. They have also had an important impact upon one another. The rise of Zionism in the Middle East and the Arab rejection of it robbed Iraq of its vibrant and influential Jewish community, with fateful results. It also displaced thousands of Palestinians to Iraq and hundreds of thousands to neighboring Kuwait. Iraqi troops fought Israel, with Iraq supporting its Palestinian foes. The Palestinians of Kuwait were further displaced by the Gulf War, and those of Iraq had to flee to Jordan and Palestine after 2003. The Israel lobby in the United States was one important mover in fomenting the 2003 U.S. overthrow of the Iraqi government, which propelled Iraq into chaos.
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Middle East, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, and Jordan

2770. Hydro-Politics: Water and Difficult Dialogues on Resources

Author:
Abdel Rahman Tamimi
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Water is considered the most important factor leading to instability and conflict in the Middle East region. Recent analyses and reports point to the fact that the problem of water will get much more complicated than current politics can handle. This is primarily because the problem is in conjunction with the natural features of the region: it is dry and desert terrain. Indeed, desert covers 60% of Israel, 70% of Syria, 85% of Jordan, and 90% of Egypt.
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan