5 - North Africa and the Middle East: Some Considerations Related to the NIEO

Abstract

The decisions related to the identifications of the need to establish a New International Economic Order (NIEO) and to the actions required for the actual realization of its many objectives involve, by necessity, an extended pluralistic process in which many operators, at different levels and at different phases, will take part. This chapter presents some consideration related to the NIEO in North Africa and the Middle East. It describes the complexity of the current process of establishing the NIEO in its different phases. With the evolution of relations among the superpowers from that of cold war and confrontation to coexistence, detente, and cooperation, the movement of the nonaligned countries re-established its basic objectives of greater self-reliance and more cooperation among the developing countries and also established the totality of principles associated with the NIEO. The pace of change and succession of events are considerable in the Middle East and North African countries. The region remains, as ever, a key crossroads of interests, cultures, and concepts.