Flux States and Counter-Hegemonic Region: Characteristics of the West Asian Regional System

The West Asian region can be named a regional system; The patterns of intra-regional and international relations in this region are fundamentally different from other regions of the world; This system has a series of norms, patterns of behaviour and fields of action that have been gradually and historically institutionalized due to the development of specific political, historical (legacy) and economic conditions; The unworkability of modern or so-called Westphalian nation-state in many countries under this system, the presence of floating/flux states, the decisive role of non-state actors and the existence of parallel spheres, the unique geopolitical position and the existence of enormous energy resources and oil and gas revenues, are among the characteristics of this system compared to other regions of the world. Using a descriptive and analytical method and taking a critical stance vis-a-vis Orientalist approaches, this paper seeks to examine the characteristics of West Asia as a regional system in which, historically, the activism of the native actors of the region plays an essential role in its formation.