“For the United States, this looming labor transition does more than provide an opportunity for increased relevance in the region. It is also a key differentiator in a world of great power competition. Although some may argue that the energy transition will render the Middle East strategically irrelevant in several decades, a seething region would undermine the global economy and threaten world security. The United States has an opportunity not only to head off the region’s worst-case scenarios, but also to advance its interests in a more competitive global environment.”

Jon B. Alterman, The Middle East Transition We Need to Talk About [Center for Strategic and International Studies]