Geopolitics, Vol.9, No.2 (Summer 2004) pp.310–341 Copyright © Taylor & Francis, Inc. ISSN: 1465-0045 print DOI: 10.1080/14650040490442881 Globalisation, Reterritorialisation and the Political Economy of Tourism Development in the Middle East WALEED HAZBUN A major limitation of most political economy studies of globalisation is that they view globalisation almost exclusively in terms of deterritorialisation. This essay, in contrast, emphasises how increases in the transnational mobility of people, capital and informa- tion can also result in reterritorialisation, which is the increased relevance of location and characteristics of place for global economic activity. In contrast to the erosion of the territorially based powers of nation-states often associated with deterritorialisation, the reterritorialisation of economic activity can increase the power and regulatory influence of state, societal and transnational agents who are able to exert control over territorial assets and the reterritorialisation process. The essay uses the concepts of deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation to develop a framework to analyse the changing political economy of one of the most understudied aspects of globalisation, the international tourism economy. With a focus on the development strategies of states in the Middle East and North Africa, the essay explores efforts to generate ‘experiences of place’ for tourists and territorial-based economic rewards for firms and their political consequences. It would seem that there may be no better place from which to observe the process of globalisation than watching the rush of passengers through the transit terminal of an international airport. As travel writer Pico Iyer reports, airports are ‘the new epicenters and paradigms of our dawning post-nationalist age’. 1 Viewed from this perspective – amidst the business lounges, foreign exchange booths, and duty free shops – flows of people, currencies and com- modities from around the world seem to glide effortlessly across the globe unconstrained by the geographies of distance or the territorial boundaries of national economies. At a glance, this perspective reflects a common trope in the popular and academic discourses about globalisation: increases in the transnational mobility of capital are eroding the territorially based capacities of nation-states to regulate economic activity, insulate their national economies and promote economic development. 2 As Kiren Aziz Chaudhry explains, Waleed Hazbun, Department of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University, USA. E-mail: <hazbun@jhu.edu>.