The Challenge of Implementing the Overlapping Regional Trade Agreements in Egypt Inaugural-Dissertation in der Philosophischen Fakultät I (Philosophie, Geschichte, Sozialwissenschaften) der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg vorgelegt von Tamer Mohamed Ahmed Afifi aus Ägypten D 29 Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 28.03.2007 Dekan: Universitätsprofessor Dr. Roland Sturm Erstgutachter: Universitätsprofessor Dr. Dr. h.c. Sefik Alp Bahadir Zweitgutachter: Universitätsprofessor Dr. Jürgen Kähler Dedication: To my parents Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for my first supervisor Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Sefik Alp Bahadir for his patience and generosity throughout the period of undertaking this study; on academic level, being one of his PhD students is a valuable asset for me, since this enriched my knowledge about the subject of the dissertation, Economics, and Middle East countries. On personal level, Prof. Bahadir has always overwhelmed me with his great human kindness. My thanks go as well to Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kähler, my second supervisor, for his time reading my work and his kind feedback. I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Horst Kopp and Prof. Dr.