LITMIR.BIZ

      Distributed by the Brookings Institution Press

      ISBN 978-0-9600127-9-4 (electronic)

      Cover Design: PiDesign

      Cover Photo: www.shutterstock.com/g/StockStudio

      Dedicated to Joyce, Soraya, and Nour

      Preface

      We live in a time where multiple transitions affect societies across the globe. Be it technological advances that shift employment models, growing inequality, geopolitical uncertainties, trade disputes enhanced by globalization, or growing awareness to the perils of climate change, the world is changing at an ever-increasing pace. Global free trade has fueled growth, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, especially in the world’s poorer countries. Unfortunately, it has also led to unintended consequences of widespread business dislocation and the attendant massive loss of jobs in many advanced economies. This in turn has undermined not only living standards but public confidence in many of the institutions, policies, and practices that have been the hallmarks of prevailing economic orthodoxy.

      The 2008–2009 global financial crisis exacerbated the symptoms of mounting economic distress while reducing the ability of many countries to help their populations cope. Shifting demographics have made the situation even more complicated, leaving too few people of working age to fund the healthcare and pension benefits owed to increasingly numerous retirees. The EU absorption of the several former Soviet Union and Western Balkan countries has brought criticism that too many resources are being expended to get their economies up to the EU standards. The free movement of people has also received criticism for bringing in too many migrants.

      The ongoing war in Syria has led to an additional burden, first and foremost to Turkey, which hosts millions of refugees. Millions more were absorbed by the European Union but after several terror attacks in Europe, many countries are experiencing a resurgence of populism and anti-migration movements, the rise of which threatens to further erode social cohesion.

      Much of the post-WWII rules-based international system is also under sustained pressure. Some of the very countries that once championed the effectiveness of this system to bring peace, stability, self-governance, and growth now look at it with skepticism. The postwar model includes a long list of mechanisms and institutions designed to prevent, manage, and resolve crises, disputes, and other obstacles to international peace and security. That model is crucial to successful navigation of the current situation; it is incumbent on responsible voices to keep it functional.

      This book constitutes a welcome contribution to the maintenance, reform, and expansion of the current international system. It does so by shedding needed light on preventing bilateral and multilateral confrontations from slowing down the safe and responsible exploration and development of oil and gas resources beneath the Mediterranean Sea, particularly its eastern region. The benefits derived from these discoveries can be immense: competitive energy prices for consumers in Europe, East Africa, and South Asia; revenues from the processing and export of hydrocarbons; tens of thousands of high-paying jobs; decisive debt and deficit reduction; enhanced energy security; and the opportunity to make unprecedented investments in education, healthcare, and transportation that will fuel future growth.

      The revenues made possible by these resources promise to transform the economies of several regional states; Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Israel. However, as the author convincingly argues, the most important Mediterranean gas boom incentive could hail a new period of geopolitical and geostrategic calm in the region, which will prompt governments to make peace with one another, and will attract more foreign investment. The very first step is to reach agreement on maritime boundaries among the Mediterranean coastal states, or at least a mutually acceptable compromise.

      The ways and means described in this book constitute a roadmap for responsible members of the international community to work together, reduce tensions, resolve differences over maritime boundaries peacefully, and reap the rewards of a safer, more stable, and more prosperous world. This volume also shows that the United Nations and its associated treaties, courts, and other institutions have developed a body of laws, rules, and procedures guiding the way to negotiated, peaceful outcomes. Dr. Baroudi’s book also points to a rapid advance of science and technology that takes much of the guesswork out of boundary delineation, making this mechanism more reliable and user-friendly than ever before. The successful use of these mechanisms would set a useful example to resolving boundary disputes in other regions of the world. That, in turn will restore confidence in the international rules-based system and could pave the way for the settling of some of the world’s most troubling and dangerous disputes.

      Debra

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