Middle East: Modernization and Conflict

Before we proceed: political realism

POLITICAL REALISM is a school of thought in international politics that believes that a state is motivated primarily for political and economic reasons rather than ethical or ideal considerations.

Other key assumptions:

States are the primary actors in international relations

Each state is a rational actor moving towards its national interest

State survival is of the highest national interest and this can be secured by amassing resources

The face of the Middle East

The region is defined more by religion, customs and language than by geography

Most are Arabs and they are linked with their non-Arab counterparts through religion

Is actually Southwest Asia plus parts of Africa

Three roots of conflict

NATIONALISM – countries wanted to assert their independence

OIL – countries wanted to maximize oil profits

ISRAEL – Israel and its neighbors remain a flashpoint of Israeli/Arab conflict

The rise of nationalism The end of the Ottoman Empire (an ally of Germany) allowed the different nations to assert their independence However, the downfall of the empire also made them vulnerable to foreign influence.

The rise of nationalism The Sykes Picot Agreement (1916) divided the Middle East between the French, British and Russians. This agreement is a turning point in the relations between the West and the Arabs. This gave rise to occidentalism.

The rise of nationalism

Arab opposition to foreign influence, especially Jewish immigration united them towards a common cause

As nationalist leaders gained strength, leaders began to demand greater control over oil production and prices (OPEC)

In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) modernized the country by

Abolishing the caliphate

Replacing Arabic alphabet with the Roman alphabet

Granting more rights to women

Demanding that Turks adopt Western styles

Setting up state banks, schools, cooperatives

Nationalism and change

In Iran, Riza Shah Pahlavi and his son Mohammed modernized the country by

Developing infrastructure, education and health facilities

Renaming Persia into Iran, “the land of the Aryans”

In 1979, the Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini begins the reign of traditional Islamic rulers

Egypt has remained a vassal of the British since 1882 when the Suez Canal opened.

In 1954, Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power and seized control of the Suez Canal in 1956.

Nasser also called for Pan-Arabism to unite the Arab people.

Nationalism and change The Suez canal controls 14% of world trade and can cut travel time by half

Focus: pan-arabism Pan-Arabism is a secular, socialist political movement that strongly opposes colonialism and Western imperialism.

By 1932 , the conquests of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud managed to unite the region into Saudi Arabia.

Vast reserves of oil were discovered in 1938 .

By the 1950s , oil money was being used for modernization programs, hospitals, schools and irrigation works. It now counts for 40% of their GDP and 24% of the world’s supply.

The price of black gold

Top World Oil Producers, Exporters, Consumers, and Importers, 2004 (millions of barrels per day)

The Zionist movement of the late 1890s encouraged the movement of Jews into Palestine.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 encouraged them further.

Jewish persecution during WW2 forced even more to move into Palestine.

The issue of israel

According to the Balfour Declaration , the British government " view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".

The issue of israel

Israelis claim:

Palestine had been their land until Romans drove them out in the first and second centuries

They have suffered too long and won’t be safe until they had their own country

Arabs had several nations of their own but never established one in Palestine

Jewish pioneers helped the city blossom

The issue of israel

Palestinians claim:

Palestine had been Arab land for centuries and its population has been predominantly Arab

While they sympathized with the Jews, it was not the Arabs who persecuted the Jews

It would be an injustice to the Arab population to solve the Israeli problem at their expense

The issue of israel

A conflict between the politics and ideology of two superpowers – the United States and Soviet Union. (“Iron Curtain”)

The USSR was on guard against United States neoimperialism (via capitalism) .

The US was on guard against the spread of communism .

The cold war complication

They never fought an open war against each other (unlike a Hot War), but engaged in proxy wars .

Examples: Korean War, Vietnam War, Soviet-Afghan War

The United States pursued a policy of containment .

The cold war complication

STOP HERE! Get ready for the Arab-Israeli Conflict Lightning Round!

May 15, 1948: Israel was created with the support of the UN (two country solution) but without the approval of the Arabs

War broke out right after when Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq invaded the Arab sections. The conflict ended when an armistice was signed on 1949.

The arab-israeli conflict

On 26 th July 1956 , Egypt seized control of the Suez canal and cut off Israeli shipping.

On 29 th October 1956 , Israel responds by invading the Sinai peninsula with the help of Britain and France.

The US and UN negotiated a ceasefire and kept UN forces on Egypt’s border. Israel refused.

On 19 th May 1967 , Egypt expelled the UN forces and sent 10,000 troops into the Sinai peninsula. They closed Israeli shipping again.

On 30 th May 1967 , Jordan entered into a mutual defense pact with Syria and Egypt.

On 5 th June 1967 , Israel responds with a preemptive strike on Egypt. The Six Day War begins.

June 5 to 10 1967 : Israel wins the Six-Day War and captures the Sinai peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Jordan’s half of Jerusalem.

6 th October 1967: Syria and Egypt attack Israel on Yom Kippur. When Israel turned the tide of war, the USSR threatened to intervene, forcing the US to call a ceasefire.

The Camp David Accords of 1978 attempted to broker peace between Israel and Egypt.

Maps of Israel

During the Kingdom of David and Solomon

As partitioned by the UN in 1947

After the Six-Day War

Camp David Accords of 1978 : Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, Gaza Strip to Israel.

June 2, 1964: The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was born, headed by Yasir Arafat. Their goal included the physical destruction of Israel.

Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 to eliminate the PLO forces that fled into the country.

The First Intifada (1987 to 1993): a mass-uprising by Palestinians against Israel for extra-judicial killings, mass detentions, house demolitions, deportation