Economic Research on the Arab World and the Middle East – A Neglected Field of Study in Germany

Abstract

The article gives an overview of the development of contemporary research on Middle Eastern and North African economies in Germany. It includes the most important institutions and central research topics and approaches, underlining that in fact it is a multidisciplinary field of study. The article also points out some of its most salient structural, conceptual, and methodological problems. Referring to research on regionalization processes, the author advocates an open, transregionally and transdisciplinarily oriented approach closely based on empirical findings.