The international political environment seems mired in interconnected conflicts. Nowhere is this clearer than in the wider Middle East where the seemingly never-ending story of ISIS, coupled with surging sectarian violence, increased Iran-Saudi tensions and the return to the Kurdish-Turkish war of attrition is paralyzing regional integration programs, generating trans-sector crises (economic, social, political) and spilling over into Europe. All in all, the Middle East’s prospects for future peace and economic growth are uncertain and liable to yet more sudden disruption.