This paper seeks to examine the current situation of development in the Middle East and particularly the challenges ahead of the region in attaining sustainable development and human development in the near future. The elitist theory is adopted as the conceptual framework for the research, since in the absence of institutionalization, the attitudes and behavior of power-holders serve as valid guides for political change. Then the author addresses the place of the Middle East among the other developing regions of the world and studies the reasons why this region is exceptional due to its backwardness from the world dominant trends in the economic and political fields. The other parts of the paper deal with the political and economic challenges arising from the dominance of the rentier state in the region as well as problems resulting from women's insufficient participation in the region's development process.
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