University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

This paper examines the concept of maritime confidence building and suggests potential uses in the Middle East. It establishes that thinking and application of confidence building generally, but maritime confidence building specifically has traditionally focused on measures. It has ignored the activities and steps that are taken to improve cooperation. This ‘Transition View’ provides a framework to consider the maritime confidence building in the past and lessons for the future.

The author considers the history of confidence building and the success maritime agencies and organizations have had worldwide with such efforts by examining regional arrangements and activities. The paper then draws upon the lessons of these experiences and the characteristics that make maritime CB a particularly useful tool. From this perspective the author is able to draw a number of possibilities for application in the Middle East. They involve interaction of personnel, undertaking joint activities, information sharing, and areas for future cooperation.