Managed Chaos: Pathways to Prosperity
- MEPS Insights
- Dec 3
- 2 min read
Foreword
The collaboration between the Middle East Peace & Security Forum, the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy and the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research reflects MEPS Forum's commitment to enhancing Kurdistan's ties to both the United Arab Emirates and the wider Gulf region. Joint initiatives such as workshops, roundtables and field-based research projects will widen the space for dialogue, deeper policy cooperation and the formulation of insights and analysis. By fostering sustained engagement between experts, officials, and emerging leaders, we aim to build stronger channels of understanding and contribute to regional peace and prosperity.
Dr. Honar Issa and Dr. Ranj Alaaldin
Middle East Peace & Security Forum
Managed Chaos: Pathways to Prosperity, Co-operation & Consensus in the Middle East
The Middle East Peace and Security Forum, the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy and the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research convened a workshop titled Managed Chaos: Pathways to Prosperity, Co-operation & Consensus in the Middle East. The workshop took place in Abu Dhabi in September 2025 as a prelude to the Middle East Peace & Security Forum 2025.
This report synthesizes the key findings and policy recommendations that emerged from experts’ insightful interventions at the workshop, highlighting how the post-October 7 escalation has exposed the Middle East’s persistent vulnerability to renewed conflict even as the region advances ambitious economic integration efforts and experiments with forms of economic coexistence in post-conflict settings.
While examining the factors that will shape short and medium-term stability, the discussion also underscored the region’s defining paradox: enduring turbulence alongside pockets of stability and prosperity. The Gulf Cooperation Council states are leveraging economic diversification, technological innovation and global investment strategies to strengthen their position as mediators and engines of regional recovery, while actors such as the Kurdistan Region use calibrated diplomacy, geo-economic assets and balancing strategies to shield themselves from regional upheaval and offer potential models of resilience for others. Against a backdrop of heightened tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States, the workshop assessed both the risks of broader escalation and the opportunities for sustainable de-escalation driven by regional initiatives.
Download the full report
