World War I and its impact on the Middle East

Running Head : World War I and the Middle East

World War I and the Middle East

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The Great War , which was born from Germany 's desire to assert extra national authority and dominate Europe , had a profound effect on the geopolitical equilibrium not just in Europe , but on the Middle East as well

The now xistent Ottoman Empire was a significant player in this global drama , even though its conclusion saw the dissolution of an empire that had existed for four centuries . Its part

began when it shifted its stance towards the conflict from compliance with the Germans that saw a jihad or holy war being declared against the allied powers of France , Russia and Great Britain

Some context is in . Prior to their engagement , the Ottoman Empire had recently been embarrassed by setbacks within the Libya and the Balkan regions . Thus , the Empire 's initial ambivalence seemed to be a rather calculated decision to avoid the potential economic and diplomatic consequences of global conflict

But German industrialists had impressed upon the Empire the heady aspirations of imperial glory and thus made the war look like an attractive opportunity to reclaim lost territories and incorporate new ones into the Empire

Although the Ottoman Empire scored several crucial victories in the early years of World War 1 in Gallipoli and Kut-al-Amara , repression of Arab nationalism under the new Ottoman-German Alliance led to an Arab revolt stemmed from a political alliance between British officials and Arab leaders which essentially thinned out the forces of the Ottoman Empire and turned the tides against them (Kamrava 28 , 39

However , the downfall of the Ottoman Empire is not simply a concluding chapter in its imperial grand narrative , but a geo-political paradigm shift which profoundly affected the politics of the regions for decades to come

The resultant formation of the League of Nations , which essentially institutionalized matters of political legality in international affairs , led to more than just diplomatic remonstrations and rebukes for the Ottoman Empire

The League of Nations Mandate carved up the territories of the Middle East into separate nations under the mandate of French and British powers , such that these territories had

.reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone . The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory

The Mandate divided the Ottoman Empire into Syria (under the supervision of France ) and Iraq and Palestine (under the supervision of the United Kingdom . Although this redrawing of geo-political bs was purportedly done under the pretense of promoting peace , it was essentially a slap in the face to the Middle Easterners . They were basically told that they lacked the political maturity to govern themselves and required the French and British to watch over them (Kamrava 36-38

Today , the fragmentation of...