Middle East Politics

• Throughout the world, politics in the Middle East is one of the most Confused, Chaotic and (often) violent in nature.

• Factors that influence the contemporary Middle East

Colonial Legacy The evolving international context Level of economic development Political institutions and ideology

Colonial Legacy: The impact of European Imperialism• Imperialism means the establishment of political and

economic control by one state or empire over a foreign territory

 

• European powers were well aware of the geographical extent and the resources of Middle East way before they colonized.

 

• It was only after the weakening of the Ottoman Empire that these powers began to assert their influence in the region of Middle East.

It is therefore that the effects of decision made in colonial era are still felt in the Middle East politics.

But unlike other regions they couldn’t colonize it due to the military power of the Ottoman Empire.

But these influences did not occurred over a large contiguous territory unlike other regions. So colonial experience of states in the Middle East varied substantially across time and place.

* Note that British and French colonial interests competed throughout the region.

Egypt as an example to illustrate the political complexities of colonialism

• Amongst the European power, it was first occupied by Napoleon (of France) at the beginning of 19th Century.

 • Then Muhammad Ali ( a Soldier, appointed as Egyptian

administrator by Ottoman Empire), began to develop Egypt as a powerful and autonomous state.

 

• In 1882, Britain invaded Egypt.

 • In 1923, Britain granted nominal independence to Egypt,

but maintain the pro-British monarchy.

• In 1952, British imposed monarchy was overthrown.

But they were defeated by the British, who restored Ottoman control of Egypt.

But it fell into deep debt to European financiers.

Making financial problem as pretext.

It also reserved the right to station British troops in the country to control and protect Suez Canal.

• In most of the Middle East region, Colonial interest of Britain & France colonial competed.

• But at other times, Britain and France agreed on

sweeping division of authority.

• Algeria and Tunisia were made an administrative part of France.

• Gulf region was considered a peripheral by most European powers and allowed Abdul Aziz ibn Saud to assemble an independent state on the Arabian Peninsula.

 • Italy exercised influence in Libya.• Russia exercised influence in Iran.

(For example: The Fashoda dispute in Sudan in 1898)

( For example: Sykes-Picat Agreement 1916 that divided former Ottoman district into modern day Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and the Palestine territory)

Algeria won its independence through long and costly war Tunisia won its freedom pretty easily.

It only became important to west after oil was discovered in 1930s.

• Thus, diverse colonial interaction in Middle East led to a widely different political circumstance.

Israel Jordan Lebanon

It developed out of a League of Nation mandate for Palestine

Was under British control before coming into being

Was under French influence

Was under British control when promised as a homeland to the Zionist movement

Politically constituted as an Arab monarchy

After the end of colonization it developed as a confessional parliamentary democracy & attempted to balance Muslim and Christian interests.

These three very different states have been established in an area that for most of its history was intertwined economically, culturally, and regionally.

Another Example

B- The Influence of changing International Context on Middle East Politics• After decolonization, Middle East was dominated by three major conflicts.

i. Cold Warii. Arab- Israeli disputesiii. Long term war against Iraq

i. Cold War• The End of Cold War had a profound effect on Soviet

allies, such as Syria, Iraq, Libya, and People Democratic Republic of Yemen.

• Allies of United States also faced equally difficult situation

They can no longer count on former superpower for military or economic assistance.

Russia sells arms for hard cash, but unlike Soviet Union it is not interested in providing preferential trade arrangement.

U.S government failed to convince Muslim population that Soviet Union rather than Israel was their main enemy.

After the disintegration of Soviet Union, continuous dependence on United States by the local rulers generated significant domestic opposition.

ii. Arab- Israel Conflict

• Arab- Israel conflict continued even after Cold War, primarily between Palestinians and Israel.

- Egypt and Jordon have officially normalized relation with Israel.

-In 2000, Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon ending nearly two decades of occupation.

-Syria refused to negotiate on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights

*but also cannot force the issue militarily.

-From 1993 to 1999, there was some brief period of genuine rapprochement between Palestinians and Israelis.

But the following events contributed to the collapse of peace talks; -disastrous Camp David talks in 2000.- Outbreak of second Intifada- Failure of TABA talks of January 2001- Electing of Ariel Sharon as Israeli Prime Minister

Afterwards, Israel re-occupying much of land it ceded to Palestinians and build 24 foot high wall to separate west bank Palestinians both from Israel and ancestral farm land water resources.

C- Economic Development as an influence on Contemporary M.E Politics• The states of the Middle East confronted the problem of economic development.

From economic point of view, Middle East have in it two kind of states

States that have oil revenue

States without oil revenue

Oil these states oil wealth made possible the most unimaginable policies for those countries

Yet decline in the price of oil to pre-1973 (when adjusted for inflation) leaves a series of new political problem for the petroleum-based economies.

They face a fairly conventional set of development issues that any other newly industrialized country faced.

D- Political Ideology and Institutions' Influence on Middle East Politics• State building has been the basic political challenge for Middle East after WW-II.

• Reasons that contributed to the inability of Middle Eastern states to overcome this challenge are as following:

i.e. creation of governments that are legitimate, stable, and capable of acting autonomously both regionally and globally

1- The current political structures in Middle East were imposed by outside powers. - Rather than a resulting from a gradual internally driven process.

2. From the very beginning, powerful Multinational Corporations (notably International petroleum companies) have been present in these states.

>This meant that new state were immediately drawn into that global political economy  > which meant they had no opportunity to determine the type of relationship that would be beneficial for their own development.

 3. Not only is the boundaries between these states are blurred but also Arab Islamic culture, history, and vision inspire a collective, supra-state identity.  >This resulted in a significant tension between the dream of a united pan- Arab nation and the practical dictates of more than twenty politically sovereign Arab states.

Classification of Government in Middle East• In the 50s and 60s, Arab leaders attempted to gain legitimacy in variety of ways ideological innovation.

They tied to balance state based claims with aspiration of the Arab nation as a whole.

• Based on the above facts, type of Middle East states can be classified into four groups.

a. Nationalist Revolutionary Republic. ( Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq)

b. Monarchies. ( Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Small Gulf States)

c. Islamic States. ( Iran, Mauritania, and Sudan)

d. Conditional Democracies. ( Turkey, Israel, & Lebanon)

a. Nationalist Revolutionary Republic• The “Arab Awakening” began in the early to middle

nineteenth century

 • The first successful twentieth century nationalist

movement in the Middle East was of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk .

That resulted in series of independence and self-determination movement in 20th century.

This movement was in consistence with the liberal revolutionary movement from the U.S. and French Revolution forwards.

Secularization of Turkey was one of the drastic innovations of this movement.

He also supported the adoption of European political form (Parliamentary system)

so when Ataturk died, a necessary structure for participatory government were in place

Nationalist Revolutionary RepublicRevolution Movement after 1950

• The post colonial political structures (in the 1950s) that were imposed by Britain, France, and the United States were immediately challenged by the ideological movements that were ready and waiting in these states. These ideologies incorporated Islamic political values and histories into a formally secular framework.

Much to the concerns of western, these ideologies drew much from the theories of Karl Marx and V. I. Lenin. * which meant that these ideologies emphasized on a strong, centralized, and bureaucratized state.

• Reasons for appeal to progressive & centralized approach to politics?

The consolidation/ centralization of state power were consistent with prevailing western political trends in government that had started in the previous two decades.

- to counter great depression - mobilize economies for WW-II

Element of the Soviet’s Communist model were initially quite attractive.

- Just in 25 year, USSR had gone from feudal to an advance European economy.

- It had survived great depression. - Socialism was appealing in every region

that was undergoing decolonization.

Political left rather than the rights that had consistently opposed colonialism.

• Two revolutionary ideological approaches that had a significant impact in the Middle Eastern political arena are:

  Ba’thism Nasserism

Found by Michael Aflaq in 1940