Abstract

UNAY, SadÜk. Structural Dynamics versus Reluctant Agents: The Middle East in a Changing Global Political Economy.Translated byCatalina Restrepo Henao. Estud. Polit. [online]. 2011, n.38, pp.145-174. ISSN 0121-5167.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been at the epicenter of global power struggles over the course of the last two centuries with an ever-increasing intensity. The region has frequently been a popular subject in political science and international relations literatures due to the sheer volume of acute military, political and religious conflicts raging within its borders. Meanwhile, writings on international/ comparative political economy and development generally tended to focus on alternate regions such as East Asia that were characterized by strong economic growth potential and internal coherence dynamics. This study aims to make a contribution to the comparative/international political economy literature by conducting a theoretically informed political economy analysis on the differential impact of economic-political globalization on the leading countries of the MENA region since the 1980s, while highlighting the historical backdrop between colonialism and the era of global integration. Meanwhile, the following issues will be evaluated to acquire a sound understanding of current regional dynamics: the political, economic and social legacy of colonialism on the region, the role of oil as a strategic resource, structural changes in the global economy since the 1970s, pressures for politico-economic reform in the MENA, and divergent paths of reform adopted by political elites in the wake of intensifying global economic integration.

Keywords : Middle East and North Africa; International Political Economy; Globalization; Oil; Economic Reform.

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