Digitalization in the Middle East: a Threat to the Regional Security or a Way to maintain it?

The article is devoted to the main threats and advantages brought by digitalization in the Middle East nowadays. The research problem of the article is "which influence of digitalization – positive or destructive – prevails in the Middle East and what prospects await this region in the digital sphere. The interests of key regional players in the cybersphere (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Iran, etc., as well as anti-systemic non-state actors), as well as regional and national initiatives in this industry, including "Peninsula Shield", "Vision 2030" and others, are analyzed. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a non-classical approach to security problems in the Middle East, namely through the prism of the digital sphere, taking into account its complexity and the multiplicity of its actors. The theoretical basis of the research is based on a neoliberal approach to world politics, in particular, on the concept of complex interdependence, since the authors rely on the postulate that the world policy sphere is inextricably linked with others, and also consists of a multitude of heterogeneous actors and connections between them. From the point of view of studying regional integration in the Middle East, the dominant approach is neofunctionalism, developed by E. Haas, in particular, the theory of "spillover". The research methods used are description, study of official documents and statistical data, situational analysis, comparative analysis, which made it possible to assess the key threats and prospects for regional security and their correlation. The authors conclude that the key threat to the region is the disunity of the main actors' interests and the associated possibility of political contradictions' aggravation. Nevertheless, digitalization provides the Middle East with such advantages as deepening regional integration and inclusion in international cooperation, the growth of soft power and the potential for economic diversification.

Digitalization, Middle East, cybersecurity, antisystem actors, regional integration, Peninsula Shield, Gulf Cooperation Council, soft power, Iran, Saudi Arabia