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March 23, 2016 | English and Arabic | Adeel MalikDiversification of Middle Eastern Economies is More a Political than an Economic ChallengeShifts in the global economy have led to rapid development across the world, but the Middle East has been largely left behind. The causes of this apparent malaise are a series of interlinked issues comprising economics, politics, and geopolitics. Specifically, this has entailed, among other factors, barriers to adopting a more representative political system, the absence of broad economic diversification, and a lack of intraregional trade. For there to be substantial development in the Arab World, a new political settlement will likely need to be accepted. For such a settlement to be accepted, the interest of elites need to be taken into account and regional linkages need to be strengthened and capitalized on, in addition to securing the assent of regional and global powers in the process.
