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The New Middle East
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The New Middle East
Introduction
During the first WWI, the map of the Middle East was redrawn to allow easier demarcation by the colonial powers of Britain and French. Two secretariats representing both France and Britain drew the map using straight lines. However, the agreement of the borderline of World War One continues to influence the region till today.
Reflection
The impacts of the First World War on the Middle East brought forth transformations that had not been witnessed for many centuries. The European colonizers completely took over Ottoman Empire in the 19th-century. The Ottoman Empire comprised Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Arabia. The modern boundaries of the Middle East emerged from the war (Lust, 2019). The battle defined the present borders of the Middle East. Modern Arab nationalism movements and nascent Islamic groups. The changes caused by the redraw of the borders led to a regional upset in terms of cultural, social, commercial, and political ties.
British and French sent their agents and armies in the Middle East to foment revolt in the Arabia Peninsula. The fundamental aspects of the arrangement they had drafted in urgency in the middle of WWI upheaval continue to affect the area today. However, while Sykes-Picot’s lines were extremely beneficial to Britain and France in the early twentieth century, their impact on the inhabitants of the region was quite contrary (Lust, 2019). The Ottoman rule was divided into religions with different spheres of influence.
First, it was kept secret without the awareness of the Arabs, and it contradicted Britain’s major promise to the Arabs – that if they revolted against the Ottomans, the monarchy would fall, and they would achieve freedom. Again, the Sykes-Picot did not translate into practice. It was drawn based on the sectarian model; it never reflected the ethnic or tribal distinctions. These divisions were masked by the Arabs’ battle to oust European powers, then by the overwhelming tide of Arab nationalism. The aspirations and the tensions caused by the differences were never diluted or disappeared. Cracks started to show, and the Arab republics became hereditary fiefdoms controlled by small groups. Since then, the countries have been torn apart between secularism and nationalism ways of governance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although the colonial powers of French and Britain intended to reign supreme on this territory infinitely, Arab resistance challenged their dominance in the area. However, the consequence of the new map affects the Arab region to this date.
References
Lust, E. (Ed.). (2019). The Middle East. CQ Press.