CChapter 3: Comparative analysis of nationality laws the law that allow for this. For the majority of people, this is also the end of their nationality story in the sense that they will continue to enjoy the nationality of the same state throughout their lifetime, perhaps even perceiving this to be an immutable part of their identity. This is indeed one of the reasons why statelessness is such an unknown and unfamiliar phenomenon – many people have simply never considered the possibility that someone could be left without any nationality nor stopped to imagine what impact this might have on their lives. Nevertheless, since different states maintain different regimes with regard to conferral of nationality at birth, this can create complications. In some instances, a child may be “claimed” more than once – i.e. he or she may, by virtue of the facts of birth, meet the terms for membership of more than one state and acquire dual or even multiple nationality. In other situations, a child may remain “unclaimed”, failing to meet the conditions for acquisition of nationality set by any state. In the latter scenario, the child will be left stateless. In the following sections, the regulations relating to acquisition of nationality at birth in the countries of the MENA are set out and a commentary is provided on where these regulations contain gaps that can and do result in cases of childhood statelessness. 83