Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Name	Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) The Middle East and North Africa region comprises a contiguous transcontinental area spanning parts of North Africa and West Asia, defined by shared historical interactions among entities such as the Ottoman Empire, Safavid dynasty, Achaemenid Empire, Umayyad Caliphate and later colonial and postcolonial formations involving British Empire, French Third Republic, and the Italian Kingdom. It is a crossroads linking the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean, and includes urban centers like Cairo, Istanbul, Tehran, Riyadh, and Casablanca as well as regions such as the Levant, Maghreb, and Arabian Peninsula.

Definition and Scope

Scholarly and policy definitions vary between organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Arab League. Common inclusions are states like Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Israel, and Palestine. Some frameworks extend to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan for strategic analyses used by NATO and the European Union, while others exclude Turkey and Iran for linguistic or cultural criteria deployed by the Arab League.

Geography and Environment

The region's physiography encompasses the Sahara Desert, Atlas Mountains, Zagros Mountains, Taurus Mountains, Anatolian Plateau, Syrian Desert, and major river basins such as the Nile River, Tigris River, and Euphrates River. Coastal systems include the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf. Climatic extremes range from hyper-arid zones in the Rub' al Khali and Sahara to Mediterranean climates in the Levant and Maghreb; biodiversity hotspots include the Mediterranean Basin and Sinai Peninsula. Environmental challenges intersect with transnational frameworks like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and crises exemplified by the regional desertification and water disputes such as between Turkey and downstream states over dam projects like the GAP (Southeastern Anatolia Project).

History and Political Development

Pre-modern political formations include the Ancient Egypt, Carthage, Hittite Empire, Neo-Assyrian Empire, and Achaemenid Empire, followed by conquests by Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. Islamic polities emerged with the Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, and later dynasties like the Fatimid Caliphate, Ayyubid dynasty, and Mamluk Sultanate. The region underwent Ottoman hegemony until the Treaty of Sèvres and Treaty of Lausanne redrew borders after World War I, while colonial mandates and protectorates involved the Sykes–Picot Agreement, Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, and British Mandate for Palestine. Twentieth-century developments feature the Iranian Revolution, Arab-Israeli conflict, Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, decolonization in Algerian War, and state-building episodes in Saudi Arabia and Republic of Turkey (1923–present). Contemporary political dynamics include the Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil War, the Yemen Civil War, the rise and decline of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and diplomatic shifts such as the Abraham Accords.

Demographics and Society

Population centers include Cairo Governorate, Greater Beirut, Istanbul Province, and the Tehran metropolitan area. Ethnolinguistic groups include Arabs, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Berbers, Assyrians, Copts, Druze, and Armenians, while diasporas extend to France, United States, Germany, and Canada. Urbanization trends intersect with megacity growth exemplified by Riyadh, Alexandria, and Casablanca; demographic concerns involve youth unemployment, migration flows like those across the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf Cooperation Council labor regimes, and humanitarian crises associated with UNHCR operations in Jordan and Lebanon.

Economy and Natural Resources

The region holds major hydrocarbon reserves concentrated in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Libya with institutions like Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries shaping export policy. Mineral endowments include phosphates in Morocco and Western Sahara, and gas fields such as the North Field/South Pars. Economic structures vary from petrostate models like Kuwait and Qatar to diversified economies like Israel and Turkey; development initiatives include Vision 2030 (Saudi Arabia), Dubai Expo 2020, and Suez Canal expansions. Fiscal shocks arise from commodity price volatility affecting sovereign wealth funds like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and international lenders including the International Monetary Fund.

Culture, Language, and Religion

Cultural heritage sites range from Pyramids of Giza and Petra to Palmyra and Persepolis, protected by organizations such as UNESCO. Major languages include Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Berber languages, and Kurdish. Religious traditions include Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Druze, and Baháʼí Faith, with institutions such as the Al-Azhar University and centers like Mecca and Jerusalem central to pilgrimage and scholarship. Literary and artistic figures include Naguib Mahfouz, Orhan Pamuk, Rumi, Kahlil Gibran, Um Kulthum, and contemporary filmmakers associated with Cairo International Film Festival and Venice Film Festival showings.

Security and International Relations

Strategic chokepoints include the Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb, and Strait of Hormuz, influencing naval strategy by United States Central Command, Royal Navy, and regional navies. Alliances and rivalries involve Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, Turkey–Greece relations, and security partnerships with NATO, Gulf Cooperation Council, and bilateral treaties such as between United States and Israel. Non-state armed actors include Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and various militias active in Libya and Iraq. Multilateral diplomacy employs forums such as the Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and United Nations Security Council resolutions addressing crises like those in Syria and Yemen.

Category:Regions