{"id":75831,"date":"2016-07-04T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=75831"},"modified":"2016-07-01T18:04:41","modified_gmt":"2016-07-01T17:04:41","slug":"annual-strategic-brief-2016-geopolitics-in-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2016\/07\/annual-strategic-brief-2016-geopolitics-in-the-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Strategic Brief 2016: \u201cGeopolitics in the Middle East\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

29 Jun 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

Executive Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Click Here to Read the Full Paper)<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This Ibn Khaldun paper is part of the annual strategic paper series that has been produced each year by our institute since 2013. Each paper looks at the key strategic development(s) in the Islamic world. This year the focus is on the geopolitics in the greater Middle East. The region is going through seismic changes and what happens in the greater Middle East will establish the emerging global order(s).<\/p>\n

Yet, there is a very little understanding of what actually is happening in the region. Simple explanations and \u2018quick-fix\u2019 approaches has thus far dominated the media. Whether it\u2019s the refugee crises, the focus on degrading the Islamic state (IS) or European security, little attention is being paid to the enormous complexity to the crises in the region.<\/p>\n

This paper seeks to understand these complex issues and challenges, and presents a broad, substantial and accurate understanding of the region.<\/p>\n

The paper builds on following main arguments (see the figure below<\/em>):<\/p>\n