Abstract

The Levant Basin has become an increasingly hot political issue in the Middle East and Southern Europe. Many countries like Greece, Lebanon, and Cyprus see the basin’s new energy possibilities as an important economic tool to guide their struggling economies. Others like Turkey, Syria and Egypt see it as a threat. Israel, the most advanced country in exploration, has begun the search for the best political and economic partners to develop the country’s energy sector. Due to the geopolitical implications of natural resources, the possible changes in the balance of power that may arise, or the increased potential importance of the region to great powers, this thesis attempts to cover the likely political outcomes of the energy resources by exploring the different possible cooperation schemes among regional powers. This thesis explores cooperation scenarios between Israel and the other regional powers in the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey. Using the liberal theories of international regimes and cooperation, this thesis investigates the possibilities of partnerships between the Levant powers and the feasibility of regime formation. We find that the most prominent candidates for fostering natural gas regimes are Israeli-Egyptian and Israeli-Turkish partnerships. To explore their potential, I model regime building, as expressed in Robert Keohane’s theory of international regimes, by applying David Axelrod’s iterated prisoner’s dilemma (IPD) to envision the conditions of cooperation or defection from the proposed partnerships

Department

Political Science Department

Degree Name

MA in Political Science

Graduation Date

6-1-2014

Submission Date

March 2014

First Advisor

Henry, Clement

Committee Member 1

Soltan, Gamal

Committee Member 2

Maswood, Javed

Extent

104 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Library of Congress Subject Heading 1

Middle East -- Foreign relations -- Israel.

Library of Congress Subject Heading 2

Israel -- Foreign relations -- Middle East.

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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