Abstract
In 1916, Western forces took control of the Arab region leading to a persistent project of colonisation. One of the first steps being the elimination of the Syrian National Congress, the first democratic Arab institution which originally included members from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. This was the first face of Western colonialism which would appear in many different forms up to and including the present day. The most prominent historical events illustrate the history of major international conflicts in the ME and the multiple interests in the region. The transition of the region after the decline of the Ottoman Empire’s influence is considered a disastrous event to demarcate the modern states of the ME from certain people’s perspectives. This chapter presents a brief overview of the historical sequences following WWI starting from the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the Arab countries, through to the Western colonisation of the region and the so-called “liberation” from colonialism. A methodological division of the Arab World from the point of view of others is a product of colonialism, international agreements, or as some argue, ulterior global motives. This chapter is an essential preface for the reader in order to understand the sequence of events that follow in the next chapters.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Azabi I (2020) Despotic regimes are the greatest threat to our being. https://www.ssrcaw.org/ar/show.art.asp?aid=677443
Al-Hussari S (1951) Opinions and conversations in Arab nationalism
Al-Saleh MA (2020) Managing the Syrian economy during the French mandate (1918–1946)—its post-independence effects. Presses de l’ifpo, Institut français du Proche-Orient. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifpo.13843
Alaraby T (2020) The Arab government in Damascus | Arabic Documentaries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CmmlUUO5M8
Aristotle (1959) Aristotle: politics. In: Rackham H, trans. London, Heinemann; Cambridge, Harvard University Press
Ashmawi M (1996) Civilisation conflict. Dar Al-Marief
Awwad T (1993) Al-Rageef. Lebanon Library
Berman H (1992) The impact of the enlightenment on American constitutional law. Yale J Law Hum 4(2):311
Britannica TEoE (2020a) Sykes-Picot agreement. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement
Britannica TEoE (2020b) Sykes-Picot agreement 1916. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement
Bsiso FH (2016) Arab economy in Palestine during the British mandate 1920–1948
Cairo NEi (2021) The importance of the Suez canal to global trade. N. F. A. a. Trade
Esemono (2008) The Ottoman Empire 1830–1923. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naher_Osten_historisch_-_Osmanisches_Reich_1830-1923.gif
Harrari Y (2020) How to survive the 21st century WEF Annual Meeting, Davos
Jansen J (2010) Political and remembrance, colonialism and the Algerian war of independence in France. In: M. Pakier (ed) A European memory?: Contested histories and politics of remembrance. Berghahn Books
Johnson J (2016) The great war and the Middle East
Karatas I (2019) The Arab spring and the possibility of the success of likely revolutions. Research Gate 10. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340810141_The_Arab_Spring_and_The_Possibility_of_the_Success_of_Likely_Revolutions
Karsh E (2020) The San Remo conference 100 years on: how the Jewish National home entered international law. Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
King C (1922) The King–Crane commission report on the near east. N. Y. Publisher, New York
Kleingeld P (2014) Kant’s second thoughts on colonialism. Oxford University Press, pp 43–67. https://philarchive.org/archive/KLEKST-2
Lahav P (2015) The Suez crisis of 1956 and its aftermath: a comparative study of constitutions, use of force, diplomacy and international relations
Library HoC (2016) Balfour Declaration. UK Parliament
Malhees G (2020) The war raging on consciousness is the most dangerous war
Mansour J (2006) Historical features: the Hijaz-Palestine railway and the development of Haifa. Jerusalem Q: 5–21
Mazarr MJ, Priebe M, Radin A, Cevallos AS (2016) Understanding the current international order. RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/RR1598
Meshrek AA-L (2019) Colonialism is between making the illusion of elites and education without education. https://www.aljazeera.net/blogs/2019/7/16/
Nationalization of the Suez Canal Company (1957) Harvard Law Rev 70. https://doi.org/10.2307/1337813
Oakes, DFK (2009) A peace to end all peace: the fall of the Ottoman empire and the creation of the modern Middle East. Macmillan USA
Pappe I (2006) The ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Oneworld Publications
Register J (2017) Why narratives matter for social progress. In: Inclusivus. https://inclusivus.org/inpowered-perspectives/2017/4/19/why-narratives-matter-for-social-progress
Reimer M (2006) The King–Crane Commission at the juncture of politics and historiography
Rekacewicz P (1992) The Middle East in 1914. Le Monde diplomatique. https://mondediplo.com/maps/middleeast1914
Roccu MPR (2020) Imperial pasts in the EU’s approach to the Mediterranean, pp 671–685. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369801X.2020.1749702
Saeed E (1993) Nationalism, human rights and interpretation. https://hekmah.org/13201-2/
Shaher SI (2017) Post-Sykes-Picot maps...from partition to deconstruction. In: Arab Democratic Center. https://democraticac.de/?p=44471
Studies, CfWA (2021) Colonial class: indirect colonization in the name of freedom! https://alkhanadeq.com/post.php?id=855
Theompson E (2020) How the west stole democracy from the Arabs: The Syrian Arab congress of 1920 and the destruction of its historic liberal-Islamic alliance (New texts out now). Grove Atlantic
Treaty of Sèvres and Lausanne (1920). https://www.fransamaltingvongeusau.com//documents/dl1/h1/1.1.18.pdf
UN, U. N. (1951) Review of economic conditions in the Middle East
Wali A (2013) Geographical history of exploration and drilling for oil in Iraq. J Remote Sens GIS, ISSN: 2052-5583, Manchester, UK, pp 60–75, 1, 60–74
Wezeman PD (2018) Saudi Arabia, armaments and conflict in the Middle East. https://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2018/saudi-arabia-armaments-and-conflict-middle-east
Wood J (2015) The west created this mess with Sykes-Picot, it’s time to fix IT. https://calert.info/details.php?id=255
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Samara, W. (2022). The Future of Ancient Interests in the Middle East. In: The Power of Perceptions in the Middle East. Perspectives on Development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99150-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99150-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-99149-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-99150-0
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)