Issue Details

THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE WORLD’S GEOGRAPHIC

ABSTRACT

Oil is crucial to the foreign and domestic policies of practically every country in the region, both oil importers and exporters. The discovery and subsequent use of oil has had a considerable impact on the economic development of the Middle East region in general, as well as oil-rich countries in particular. Prior to the discovery of oil, the Middle East was an impoverished region that was "forbidding ecologically and deprived economically, with very limited agricultural and pastoral economies and a small but locally important caravan trade"109.The Middle East region has the majority of the world’s oil producing countries. Despite being rich in a basic resource, they suffered lesser growth than resource-poor countries. The early twentieth century was a watershed moment in the Middle East’s growth. Prior to 1950, the Middle Eastern countries had some of the world’s lowest levels of socioeconomic and development (Yusuf T. M. 2004)110. Over the last century, oil has had a major role in defining the Middle East’s politics, economy, development, and foreign relations. Because oil powers modern businesses and civilizations around the world, oil in the Middle East has emerged as a critical strategic commodity influencing international affairs and the global economy. However, with the discovery of massive oil reserves and its subsequent use and active exports, the Middle East region has seen significant economic, political, and social upheavals.

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