the making of a conundrum: origins of the modern middle east
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Thomas BaileyThe Making of a Conundrum: Origins of the Modern Middle East
If one were to engage in nation building in the early twentieth century, some of the best
characteristics to add were democracy, constitutional law, commercial innovation, industrial
production, and culture hallmarks of France and Britain. In the wake of the fall of the Ottoman
Empire, the establishment of the mandate system by the League of Nations, from an European
perspective, seemed to be an ideal solution for the creation of stable nations in the former
Ottomans vilayets. The growth of nationalism in the new Turkish state, along with its hampered-
evolution in the former provinces, and coupled with the dominating control of the Great Powers
(United Kingdom and France) however, created modern states lacking internal cohesion. The
British and French drew the Fertile Crescents states of Syria/Lebanon, Iraq/Kuwait, Jordan, and
Palestine/Israel. A detailed study of each is not possible in this paper, so I will highlight instead
only two: Syria (a French mandate) and Iraq (a British mandate).
The final years of the Ottoman Empire brought a variety of nationalistic sentiments, all
aimed at uniting the empire.1 Of these, the Anatolian-Turkish identity proved to be the most
important it was around a Turkish national identity that Mustafa Kemal created the Republic of
Turkey. The emphasis placed upon being a Turk meant there was little room for the Arabic-
dominated provinces of the old empire in the new republican Turkey. The 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne recognized Turkish sovereignty over Anatolia sine Mosul in exchange for dropping
all claims to other former Ottoman territories.2
These eastern vilayets then were open to be
controlled by the victorious Great Powers along similar lines decided in the Sykes-Picot
Agreement of 1916.
1William L. Cleveland and Martin Burton,A Historyofthe Modern Middle East, 4th ed. (Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, 2009), 137-140.2 Cleveland, 177-178.
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Prior to the outbreak of World War I, the Committee of Union and Progress, which
controlled the government in Istanbul, pushed an Ottoman identity. To this end they instituted a
policy in 1909 that dismantled the milletsystem and began to remove prominent Arab families
from positions of power in the vilayets, often replaced with Turks loyal to the new regime.
Intended to unite, its effect was to alienate the Arab population they saw themselves as distinct
from their Turkish overlords.3
Even throughout the war period, British agents manipulated the
Arabic identity in order to obtain Hashemite support against the Ottomans.4
When the Ottoman system of rule collapsed, the British and French were keenly aware of
what Rudyard Kipling called the white mans burden on behalf of the newly freed people. The
Arab people living in the Fertile Crescent were developed, but were not seen as being
sufficiently developed to found modern nation-states without being subject to the rendering of
administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory.5
Britain and France approached the issue
of leadership in their mandates differently, however, they both consciously excluded the same
Arab families that the Young Turks removed from power.
France began its mandate over Syria by dividing it into five separate states, three of
which (Lebanon, Alawite, and Druze) were created to foster separate identities in religious
minority groups.6
The process helped to solidify differences, particularly between the Maronite
Christians and their Muslim neighbors. In addition, economic development could not flourish
because the two larger Syrian states (Aleppo and Damascus) were landlocked.7 France
hampered Syrian political involvement in their government by delaying electoral processes,
3 Cleveland, 137-138; 140-143.4 Edward W. Said, Orientalism, (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978), 238.5
League of Nations, Covenantofthe LeagueofNations,Article XXII as quoted in Nigel Davidson, TheTermination of the Iraq Mandate,InternationalAffairs (RoyalInstituteofInternationalAffairs 1931-1939) 12, no.
1 (January 1933): 62.6
George Antonius, Syria and the French Mandate, InternationalAffairs (RoyalInstituteofInternationalAffairs1931-1939) 13, no. 4 (July-August 1934): 526; Cleveland, 218-221.7 Antonius, 527.
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reserving final decision-making to French bureaucrats, and attempting to impose a constitution
without adequate consultation with the people it was to govern.8
Unwittingly French policies,
particularly the violent repression of the Druze revolt and the ceding of Alexandretta to Turkey,
fused a Syrian national identity amongst the varied Muslim populations. At the core of this
identity was a hatred for France. After achieving independence, the segregation enforced by the
French was maintained in the establishment of two states: Lebanon and Syria. Within Lebanon
the Christian-Muslim tension remained, culminating in the 1975-1990 civil war.
Unlike the French mandate of Syria, which was a single vilayet that France divided, Iraq
was the British combination of three (Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra) into one. The majority
populations of each were not natural allies, separated by cultural identity and religious
adherence. In addition, the economic vitality of Iraq was hampered by the British decision to
minimize Iraqs access to the Persian Gulf a decision that created tension and led to war in
1990.9
British imperial policy toward Iraq favored indirect rule consisting of a monarch able to
pit one group against another, though dependent upon Great Britain.10 To achieve their aim of a
client state, the British chose Emir Faysal, a non-Iraqi Arab, as the new king in 1921. King
Faysal was in a precarious position; dependent upon the British for financial and military aid and
yet aware that dependence lost him the support of the Iraqi people. And so at various times the
British conceded minimal concessions to him in external affairs.11 The control of the military
8Cleveland, 222-223; Antonius, 530-531.
9 Helmut Mejcher, Iraqs External Relations 1921-26, Middle EasterStudies 13, no. 3 (October 1977): 345;
Cleveland, 204-205.10
Toby Dodge, Iraq: The Contradiction of Exogenous State-Building in Historical Perspective, ThirdWorldQuarterly 27, no. 1 (2006): 195.11 Mejcher, 342.
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however, a key element for international diplomacy, was firmly rooted in British training and
logistics.12
In order to exercise authority over his new kingdom, King Faysal employed two tactics
learned from the British. The first was the extension of the client-patron system to internal
relations and the use of military force. Since Ottoman time, effective centralized control was
maintained only in the urban areas with the vast interior territory controlled by Bedouin tribes.13
Faysal traded land water access and grazing rights to Bedouin leaders in exchange for their
support of his policies. Failure to comply involved the confiscation of the land, which was vital
to the tribal leaders patronage system.
14
Despite the coups that occurred in modern Iraqi
history, the patronage system continued to play a vital role for the central government.
In order for the central government to maintain control over its clients and disenchanted
members of the population, military strength was essential. Neither Britain nor the Kingdom of
Iraq possessed sufficient resources for sustained land operations. The introduction ofhakumatal
tayarra (government by aircraft), led by the British Royal Air Force, ensured the stability of the
kingdom. The air raids were aimed at those who did not cooperate with the government in
Baghdad. The result was two-fold: it united through fear the anti-government groups and
hindered the development of infrastructures necessary for a united state.15
Air power continued
to be used by Iraqi regimes to subdue minority peoples. After the 1991 Gulf War however,
British, French, and American air power was used to protect the Kurds and Shia. Iraq, being a
diverse country with a violent modern history, has not been able to form a national identity
amongst all its peoples.
12 Cleveland, 207.13
Cleveland, 205.14
Curtis Richardson, The New State of Iraq (class lecture, History of the Modern Middle East, NorthwestMissouri State University, Maryville, MO, January 21, 2010).15 Dodge, 193-194.
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The French and British made the decisions concerning their obligation to their mandate
territories based upon their own national security interests and to a degree cannot be faulted for
placing their own citizenry first. The result nevertheless is the present fragmentation in the
Fertile Crescent. The United States is now in a similar position to the old Mandatory powers,
attempting nation building. And like France and Britain have national security interests which
affect the decisions being made.
The long-term stability of Iraq or Afghanistan needs to be determined by the people of
those territories and not imposed from the international community. Despite American
objections to certain elements in their societies, other countries in the region have built stable
nations without such interference. It is usually those countries that have experienced extensive
Western involvement that face political turmoil. If history is to be a lesson here, American
efforts should be focused on national cohesion based upon the will of the populace. Favoring
one side over the other, be they Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Nestorian, Jew, Zoroastrian, etc., will only
re-entrench their differences. If popular sovereignty is acultural, then it should be followed,
encouraged, and protected from outside interference.
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Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Antonius, George. Syria and the French Mandate. InternationalAffairs (RoyalInstituteof
InternationalAffairs 1931-1939) 13, no. 4 (July-August 1934): 523-539.
Davidson, Nigel. The Termination of the Iraq Mandate. InternationalAffairs (RoyalInstitute
ofInternationalAffairs 1931-1939) 12, no. 1 (January 1933): 60-78.
Secondary Sources:
Alonso, Ana Mara. The Politics of Space, Time and Substance: State Formation, Nationalismand Ethnicity. AnnualReviewofAnthropology 23 (1994): 379-405.
Cleveland, William L., and Martin Bunton. A Historyofthe Modern Middle East. 4th ed.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2009.
Dodge, Toby. Iraq: The Contradiction of Exogenous State-Building in Historical Perspective.ThirdWorldQuarterly 27, no. 1 (2006): 187-200.
Mejcher, Helmut. Iraqs External Relations 1921-26. Middle EasterStudies 13, no. 3
(October 1977): 340-358.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978.