Core issues/The Regional Track
Core issue · Regional integration

The Regional Track

Normalisation, security, and economic integration — and how a regional framework can underwrite a two-state outcome rather than bypass it.

The region has never been more willing to integrate — the question is whether that momentum includes the Palestinians.

A decade of normalisation has reshaped the Middle East's diplomatic map. For ECF, the central question is one of linkage: whether regional integration is built around a credible path to Palestinian statehood, or around its absence.

We study how normalisation tracks, security cooperation and economic corridors could be structured to reinforce a two-state outcome — and where, left unconditioned, they risk entrenching the status quo instead.

The Arab Peace Initiative still frames the bargain: full normalisation in exchange for a negotiated settlement. Our work keeps that framework operational — translating a diplomatic principle into the arrangements that would make it real.

2002
the Arab Peace Initiative — still on the table after more than two decades
6+
regional states engaged in active normalisation or dialogue tracks
1
framework linking normalisation to a credible Palestinian horizon

Indicative planning figures compiled by ECF from public sources, 2026. Provided for orientation; consult primary data before citation.

Where we focus

Integration that includes, not bypasses.

Our regional work concentrates on keeping normalisation tied to a credible political horizon.

01

Normalisation & linkage

Examining how normalisation agreements can be conditioned to reinforce a two-state outcome.

02

Regional security

Assessing the security architecture a settlement would require and the regional guarantees that could underwrite it.

03

Economic integration

Modelling trade corridors and energy and water cooperation that include a future Palestinian state.

Who works on this

The team on The Regional Track.

Name Surname

Director

Leads ECF's regional diplomacy and normalisation work.

Name Surname

Senior Fellow

Specialist in regional security and guarantees.

Name Surname

Fellow

Focus on economic integration and corridors.

If your work spans the regional track, let's talk.

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