The Tumultuous Transformations Of The Arab World

Often called “The Crossroads of the World”, the Middle East stands between three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. Over thousands of years, migrating traders and conquerors crossed this region and spread the ideas, inventions, and achievements of many civilizations. It is an incredibly important part of the world with rich history, important resources, and deep religious and cultural traditions. However, in the past decades up to today, the Middle East has been consumed by conflict and chaos. Although different circumstances surround each issue, religion, terrorism, disputes over the control of natural resources, and weak governance primarily allow conflict to persist in the Middle East.

In order to understand the complexity of the problem as a whole, we must first understand what role each character plays. Friedman makes sure we understand where each character is coming from and what his or her ideology is toward the situation in the Middle East. Friedman’s biographical assessments of different leaders such as Yasir Arafat and Ariel Sharon give us a better perceptive of the main underlying reasons for the struggle. Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, had a very distinctive appeal about him. While he was neither physically attractive nor dashing in anyway, he had an appeal to the Palestinians that was not typical with everyday statesmen. Arafat can credit his political success to his great accomplishment and that is guiding the Palestinians “out of the deserts of obscurity into the land of “prime time.”” Arafat was a statesman for the people, he knows what the people are going through and he uses that down-to-earth quality to relate to the Palestinian people and gain their trust and support. On the other hand there is Ariel Sharon, a man that didn’t play with the enemy. The

From as early as 1953 with the assistance in the coup to overthrow then Iranian leadership to the killing of Bin Laden, we see that America has had a hand in the Middle East and as fig.1 demonstrates and if to be believed, the problems that now find need for policies, competencies and leadership had the helping hand of the United Staten in creating the dis function in the region; as Malcolm X would so eloquently state “the chickens are finally coming home to roost.”

The dichotomy of historical events, personalities and concepts are central to devising a sense of both triumph and tragedy, varying in perspective for the individuals and groups directly involved. The creation of the state of Israel accommodates this dichotomy, in which the event can simply be recognised as a success for the Jewish people whose religious land was regained, and a calamity for the Arab-Palestinians who became displaced refugees as a result. Since the inception of the Israeli nation-state in 1948, religious and political difference have played a major role in bringing about the Arab-Israeli conflict. The dominance of the Jewish people, driven by religious and cultural ties to the land following their Diaspora, has seen the formation of Israel as a short-term social triumph. However, the resultant dispossession of Arab refugees in the elicited conflict, consolidated by the increase in Arab rebel terrorist activity and interference of other states has

Throughout history the Middle East has been home to some of the most powerful and influential empires in the world. As with all great empires they did not arise without difficulty. Though the Middle East has had periods of great prosperity, it has also had periods of poverty and stagnation. Within the last one hundred years the Middle East has seen many changes relating to borders, religions, and international politics. Much of the changes that have happened originated from diverse ways of thinking especially when it comes to religion and culture. Conflicts that occur in the Middle East such as Israel, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan have monumental effects on the global economy predominately due to the massive oil industry in the region and competition between outside nations trying to expand influence.

The Arab world seemed to have been poised for an era of political and cultural renewal. The 2011 uprisings that toppled long-reigning dictators inspired hope to those within the region and the rest of the world that change may finally come to the Middle East. Like many eager journalists and intellectuals during the Arab Spring, Juan Cole, a history professor at the University of Michigan and a popular political blogger, had high hopes. “A new generation has been awakened,” Cole writes in his latest book, “The New Arabs,” which chronicles the positive new historical dynamic is taking hold in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. In 2011, Westerners expected the Arab world to “spring” into democracy. But like most at the time, Juan Cole was wrong.

Introduction “What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response” a novel written by Bernard Lewis, outlines how the Islamic world has failed to keep up with modernization due to Western power and dominance over certain regions. Lewis’ book acknowledges the differences between Islamic and Western culture and gives distinct examples of the many years Islamic regions have failed to come up with efficient solutions to get back their global position. In means of political, economic, and military development the Islamic world has fallen way behind where they once stood in centuries past. Lewis gives examples of different Islamic views regarding their history and the cause and effect of major inciting events that have regressed the Islamic culture. One major theme I found in Lewis’ book is that ethnocentrism has made Islamic ideology very foggy and unrealistic in terms of progressing in all areas.

Since the United States became the world’s sole superpower, the Middle East has been seen as the most troublesome region in the world by US politicians. This view emanates from all the conflicts going in the Middle East that have the potential to threaten numerous strategic interests for the united Stated such as oil, terrorist, and Israel. Yet Middle East has never seen as problematic as it is now due to the excessive flux of problems the Middle East is struggling with. This increasingly conflicting nature of the region demands the US policymakers to reevaluate American policy in the Middle East to secure US interests. Unfortunately, American policy in the past three decades toward the

Having set the benchmark of a modern civilization due to economic and industrial superiority, Western European powers had contemptuous feelings toward the Ottomans’ primitive regimes and their internal strife. In fact, the 17th and 18th centuries in the Middle East were periods marked by severe financial crisis, increased decentralization, and stronger external control by western nations. It was clear that members of Ottoman and Persian military and bureaucratic organizations needed to prove themselves worthy in comparison to the European nations in order to shift the global balance of power back towards the East. As a result, drastic political, economic, and social reforms were implemented in the Middle East throughout the 19th century that aimed to both reverse the process of fragmentation within the empires and attempt to regain authority on a both local and global scale. Today, historians often describe this period of transformation as the beginning of the “modern” history of the Middle East as we are still living the consequences of the changes that took place during that period. Throughout this essay, I will demonstrate that on the one hand some of the social reforms that took place in the region helped modernize the educational and cultural affairs of Middle Eastern societies, while on the other hand, the failed establishment of new economic and political policies in the empires helped strengthen European control over the region and subsequently set the stage for the

On June 2006 in Tel a Viv the word new Middle East was coined and introduced to the world courtesy of the then US secretary of state Condoleezza rice. The term was meant to reduce the more imposing ‘great middle east’. It is a term that was accompanied by hope and despair in equal measure. Secretary Condoleezza Rice claimed that in a press conference that the destruction of Lebanon and Israel attacks was the emergence of the new Middle East and in case the United States joins in the race they must make sure they are moving to the new one but not the old Middle East. However her statements were criticized because of expressing the indifferences to the suffering of a country which had been bombed indiscriminately by the Israel Air forces.

Throughout Middle Eastern history there have been many great empires but two stand out, the Ottoman Empire and the Qajar Kingdom; both have had long-lasting effects on what the Middle East looks like today. When looking at the Islamic Republic today and their form of government it is important to understand how they reached this level through examining their history and the lingering effects that WWI and Western Imperialism have left behind. The Ottoman Empire which stretched as far as modern-day Austria were a great military power but just like the Qajars were brought down by a combination of force and economic troubles. In order to understand the modern Middle East, we must be able to understand its history and what brought down both the Ottoman Empire and the Qajar Dynasty.

Power relations shift when global capitalism and modernity, terms used almost interchangeably in this piece due to western view of what modern means, enter the scene. Power relations mean everything from the very visible ruler and subject dynamic, to that of the family, and to that of the whole county to the world. The Middle East had a very different relationship to the global economy than the growing European Empire did. In a way modernization did the exact opposite to places like the Ottoman Empire than it did to European nation states. While Europe entered as a global superpower there was decline in Ottoman power that came with the shift. The Middle East, while some would argue had never been recognized the same way that the West has, saw a major decline in their

Although the people’s voice is being heard and changes are being made, blood flows down the streets as people are being killed violently everyday. Many people believe it would have been more beneficial if the Middle East had completely avoid the Arab Spring or at least have gone a more passive road. Through the history of the region, leaders of Arab countries have anchored their position to later become rich and

Middle East considers one of the most studied areas in the world due to its rich history of politics, social, economic, and its culture and civilization. Its borders are still arguable geographically, generally in the west it starts from morocco until Iran in the east, however, many scholars don’t agree on including Turkey either as a Middle Eastern or as a European country (Milton-Edwards, 2006. P: 4). The origin of the name was invented by the colonies as a necessity to describe the place geographically, which was the era of bringing “Middle East” the language of academic writings and political scientists. Changes, innovations, and new ideologies create gaps between the transformations of any perspectives to a different

The United Arab Emirates is a Middle Eastern country full of history and culture that is modernizing and revamping its healthcare system to better serve the needs of the people. Depending on where one plans to visit, it is important to observe the cultural and social norms of the population.