DB REPLIES - BUSI 464

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

The lack of economic integration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is the result of unsuccessful negotiations. Regional trade integration initiative’s in MENA have not been properly negotiated or implemented. The region suffers economically, from a lack of liberalization and protectionism. The region is very underdeveloped and is unstable politically as well. The ongoing friction within the political and security divisions further hinder the ability for the region to achieve economic integration. PAFTA began in 2005, and has seen a lot more success than previous attempts at economic integration. Because of PAFTA, “low economic integrations seem to be changing with the Pan Arab Free Trade Area (PAFTA)” (Lynch, 2010, p.203). The success PAFTA is partly because the, “initial implementation was spelled out and began shortly after the call to integrate” (Lynch, 2010, p.216).

MENA countries are also plagued by the reality of having very low oil reserves which affects the economy and development efforts. Years of civil wars and other conflicts, have been another significant contributing factor to the economic instability in MENA. The region also suffers from extreme poverty. Additionally, there are “cultural, linguistic, religious, and ethnic diversity” (Lynch, 2010, p.208). MENA is not involved with the World Trade Organization (WTO), which could explain the lack of economic integration in the region as well. The decision to not be involved with the WTO is because, “Many of the regions states are not intertwined in the global trading system as other similarly developed nations because of high levels of protectionism” (Lynch, 2010, p.206). With the high level of trade protectionism and lower restrictions of movement of labor across borders, workers can cross Arab borders easier than goods and services. Usually, with regional integration economic integration is typically higher in trade then labor; making this an unusal situation. If MENA, were to participate in the WTO, trade would be easier because trade barriers would be removed or minimized, allowing free trade across borders.

Egypt, has the largest community of Christians within the MENA. In an article titled, Why The Middle East’s Largest Christian Community Is Fleeing Egypt, Michael Kaplan explains why Christians are fleeing Egypt in large numbers. According to Kaplan, “the number of asylum claims granted to Egyptians in the U.S. climbed almost 10 times from their 2010 level to 3,102 in 2013” (Kaplan, 2016). There is such a high number of asylum seekers in the U.S., which would suggest that the Christian community in Egypt is declining rapidly. In Egypt, the fear Christians have is due to the extreme acts of violence towards people who believe anything different than Muslim beliefs. The violence is increasing and religious freedom in the region is nonexistent, which makes is very dangerous for Christians. The Christian Community in Egypt, will likely continue declining if laws are not enacted to protect the religious freedoms of people in Egypt.

References

Kaplan, M. (2016, February 03). The Second Exodus. Retrieved March 01, 2017, from http://www.ibtimes.com/why-middle-easts-largest-christian-community-fleeing-egypt-2288395

Lynch, D. A. (2010). Trade and globalization: An introduction to regional trade agreements. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Discussion Board Forum 7

The Middle East and North African Region (MENA) is one of the last major regions of the world that continues to have little to no economic integration. Even with all their vast natural resources, economic liberalization and integration has been a major uphill battle.

According to Trade and Globalization, the four main causes for lack of regional integration include (1) high levels of protectionism and lack of liberalization within region’s economies, (2) regional economies that don’t complement each other well, (3) underdeveloped (nonpluralist) political systems, and (4) continued political and security divisions among members’ states(Lynch, 2010, p.205).

Additionally, it is reported that over 32 million people in MENA countries suffer from malnutrition and that most of the Arab governments lack accountability, transparency, and respect for human rights (Schwarz, 2008). The movement of people and goods is imperative to global trade, but in the MENA, there are physical bottlenecks in the transportation sector, as the few major regional airports are all state-run (Romagnoli, 2009). And although the lack of membership in the WTO by many MENA countries has certainly stunted the region’s economic integration, it is not the leading cause of it. Healthy economic integration requires trust, security, transparency, and accountability—none of which are in great supply in MENA. The region’s distrust of Israel (the most developed and diverse country in the region) has also contributed to the region’s paltry integration(Lynch, 2010, p.207).

The Middle East has historically enjoyed a religiously diverse population with Muslims and minorities enjoying relative harmony. In fact, at the turn of the 20th century, Christians made up nearly 10% of the region’s population. Today, that number stands at about 4% (THE ECONOMIST | ALEPPO, BEIRUT AND ERBIL , 2013). The Coptic Christian community is the largest Christian community in the Middle East, comprising about 10% of the Egyptian population. However, that number is decreasing due to persecution stemming from recently instituted discriminatory policies targeting religious minorities. Coptic Christians compose only a tiny proportion of high level government positions, and are increasingly at the mercy of an unfriendly Muslim majority. Also, the Coptic community has struggled to overcome an extremist Muslim president whose government, after the Arab Spring, established a religious hierarchy that privileged Muslims over Christians (Jeong Ha, 2015).

Christians in the Middle East have always had to live as strangers in their homeland due to the overbearing presence of Islam, but recent attacks against their very identity have made them flee in large numbers to safe havens in the US, Canada, and elsewhere. If moderate Muslims don’t stand up for religious freedom, Coptic Christians are in danger of losing their culture, security, and homes. And if Coptic Christians aren’t safe, no minority is.

References

Jeong Ha, H. (2015). Emotions of the weak: violence and ethnic boundaries among Coptic Christians in Egypt. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 133-151. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2016.1201586?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Lynch, D. (2010). Trade and Globalization. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Romagnoli, A. (2009). The challenge of economic integration in the MENA region: from GAFTA and EU-MFTA to small scale Arab Unions. Economic Change and Restructuring, 69-83. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/216595836?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=12085

Schwarz, R. (2008). Introduction: Resistance to Globalization in the Arab Middle East. Review of International Political Economy, 590-598. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/stable/25261987?pq-origsite=summon&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents

THE ECONOMIST | ALEPPO, BEIRUT AND ERBIL . (2013, March 19). Ever more fearful . Retrieved from The Economist: http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/03/christians-middle-east