The purpose of this article is to describe the geopolitical structure of the Middle East and analyze the factors that hinder the formation of a regional subsystem. Among the key reasons for the immaturity of the regional subsystem of international relations in the Middle East, the author highlights the absence of a leading state or organization capable of becoming the core of the subsystem, the lack of desire among regional entities to act on the basis of common interests, as well as the absence of an inclusive regional identity due to cultural and ethnic heterogeneity, the presence of conflicts, as well as other chronic security problems (terrorism, etc.). Integration initiatives capable of drawing the region into a subsystem are also currently experiencing a crisis. The author argues that the Middle East is rather an international political space where intercultural, political, economic and other interactions take place without political unity. Three possible scenarios for the development of relations between regional centers of power in the process of forming a regional subsystem are given.