Regional inclusive mechanism for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region; Bringing 'Pipe Dreams' to Reality

Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is going through an existential crisis due to a complex, multifaceted historical and new entrenched set of reasons. The root causes of the current situation are rife in the area and driven by both old and new challenges and conflicts. Regional, international governments and global governance actors seem unable to provide viable solutions to the MENA regional entrenched challenges and conflicts. The region seems to lack an overarching regional structure that is more comprehensive and more inclusive. However, there has been some initiatives like the Iranian Hormuz Peace Plan (HOPE), the Russia's Collective Security Concept for Gulf security and the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) among others but they remain rather limited in nature and scope. The overall objective is to create a more comprehensive and inclusive regional mechanism in the MENA region with the aim of facilitating dialogue, mediation, confidence building measures, and regional cooperation. The paper will discuss existing regional structures and proposed initiatives and shed light on the evolving idea of creating a regional mechanism that is more comprehensive and more inclusive