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Military burdens in hostile environments may be high, as countries choose to spend on the military for deterrence purposes. In this study, we test whether the convergence hypothesis is valid for military burdens of a panel of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. The results of the analysis suggest that there is unconditional [beta]-convergence for the panel; however, individual convergence is valid for only Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. We also test whether the military burdens of Israel and the United States influence the military burdens of the countries in the panel. The results suggest that only the military burdens of Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey converge to that of Israel, while individual convergence to the United States is only valid for Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, and Tunisia. Keywords: Non-Linear Panel Unit Root Test, Military Burden, Convergence, Middle East Çatismali ortamlarda ülkeler caydiricilik amaciyla yüksek miktarda askeri harcama yapmayi tercih etiginden, ülkelerin askeri harcama yükleri yüksek olabilmektedir. Bu çalismada Orta Dogu ve Kuzey Afrika (MENA) ülkelerinden olusan bir panelde askeri harcama yükleri için yakinsama hipotezinin geçerliligi test edilmektedir. Analiz sonuçlari panel için kosulsuz [beta] yakinsamasi oldugunu, ancak bireysel olarak sadece Cezayir, Misir, Israil, Ürdün, Fas ve Suudi Arabistan'in askeri yüklerinin ortalamaya yakinsadigini göstermektedir. Ayrica, paneldeki ülkelerin askeri yüklerinin Israil ve ABD askeri yüklerine yakinsamasi da test edilmistir. Analiz sonuçlari sadece Kuveyt, Fas, Umman, Suudi Arabistan, Tunus ve Türkiye askeri yüklerinin Israil askeri yüküne yakinsadigini, ABD askeri yüküne yakinsamanin ise Ürdün, Kuveyt, Fas, Umman ve Tunus için geçerli olduguna isaret etmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Dogrusal Olmayan Panel Birim Kök Testi, Askeri Yük, Yakinsama, Orta Dogu, Introduction A variety of factors can affect a country's military spending. The literature lists many, including budgetary constraints, political system and ideology, institutional setup, strategic considerations, and so on. The [...]

THE LIKELIHOOD THAT the current efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a military nuclear capability may fail has raised debate in academic and strategic communities regarding the implications of a [...]

The agenda of the U.S. President George W. Bush to eliminate extremism from the Middle East region through democracy seems to have gone haywire due to the Iraq situation. The idea has not found favor in Middle East countries, resulting in political oppression and restrictions on the press combined with the loss of prestige for the U.S. among Islamic nations.

The article explores the EU's efforts to stabilize relations with neighboring states through the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), using the framework of political dialogue with partners, particularly cooperation in external relations.

British policy in the Middle East during and after the First World War is analyzed. The article investigates the nature of Britain's promises to the Assyrians during the First World War and the manner in which those promises were made until the end of the Second World War.

It depends on which continent you emanate from, in order to determine what the most serious global crisis is. I want to identify the three major global crises: climate change, [...]

Veteran Middle Eastern analyst and former Clinton administration official Martin Indyk recently characterized the Middle East as having been turned 'upside down' in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of [...]

This article was originally undertaken to note the fiftieth anniversary of the Suez Affair, the November 1956 Anglo-French invasion of Egypt, which, although originally headed for rapid success, was quickly [...]

"We are left with the problem of finding an exit that will not create even more chaos in the Middle East and can still be presented as something other than a defeat."

For the last several decades the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has been considered a major threat to international security. Both chemical and biological weapons are universally banned. Nuclear weapons, however, are regulated by a more complicated international regime. This essay begins with a general survey of the literature on nuclear proliferation. Specifically, in the first part the author addresses the question why countries seek to acquire nuclear weapons. To answer, the article examines five theoretical models: globalization and technological imperative; leadership/cognitive and psychological approaches; internal dynamics and domestic politics model; national pride and prestige; and security. The section that follows addresses the question of how countries are 'persuaded' or 'pressured' to give up their nuclear aspirations. Three models are discussed: change in the economic and political orientations; the international non-proliferation regime; and United States policy. Given recent development in Iraq, Iran, and Libya, references are made to nuclear proliferation and rollback in the Middle East. Key Words: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD); Nuclear Weapons; Non-Proliferation Treaty; Nuclear Powers; Middle East; Israel; Iraq; Iran.

Various factors that are likely to influence homegrown terrorism in the smaller Gulf Co-operation Council states of the Northern Gulf are discussed. It is found that the vulnerability of assets, particularly soft targets such as Western expatriates, is not enough to attract terrorist activity, but the size of the recruitment and former jihadist base, top cover from senior jihadists and national involvement are key drivers of local terrorist activity.

Before commenting on Robert Looney's very valuable stage theory analysis of the Iraq situation, I wish to commend his understanding of the idealistic motivation of the attack on Saddam. The [...]

The small Gulf states of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman realized, in the wake of the second Gulf war in 1991, that they could not maintain proper security frameworks on their own and needed to turn to an outside ally for the better protection. It is argued that these states tend to choose a balancing strategy in foreign relations, and turning to the United States as a dominating yet unthreatening power and using Israel as way of influencing favor with the hegemony.

Occupying a pivotal position at the juncture of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the 'Greater Middle East'--here defined as the sum of the core Middle East, North Africa, the African Horn, [...]