World War One and The Middle East Essay -- International Conflict

Introduction Over the course of human history, wars have always created, destroyed or enveloped nations, states or empires. Examples of these include the Final War of the Roman Republic, which culminated with the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, to the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 which created a unified German state. However, World War One is known to have had the greatest impact on human civilization. It dragged in almost every continent into the conflict, halted global trade, led to the demolition of four empires, and gave nationalism everywhere a boost. One interesting factor about the First World War is the extent to which it had a tremendous impact on the Middle East. Many westerners today would only remember it by reading Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front or attending an Armistice Day parade in Central London. Most would not even contemplate the fact that World War One had everything to do with the current events in the Middle East today such as the so-called Arab Spring, the Palestinian conflict, et cetera. With all being said, the argument presented is that even though the First World War was important in shaping the destiny of the modern Middle East, the long term unintended results were definitely more important. In addition, the war was mainly a catalyst for the continuation of defensive developmentalism in the Middle East. Now emphasis must be laid why World War One affected the Middle East. Narrative On the 28th of June 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. An interesting question must be asked about why the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne has anything to do with the future of the Middle East. Ansary notes that the war seemed ... ... to wield an iron fist ranging from Mustafa Kemal to Hosni Mubarak to various monarchs that rule the numerous kingdoms around the in and around the Arabian Peninsula in order to exact development. The defensive developmentalists of the nineteenth century were secular leaders just as the various Middle Eastern leaders are today. In acknowledging its significance, there is no doubt that the First World War did have a tremendous impact on the Middle East but it must be said that the string of problems that exists there today started prior to the war and the war itself served as a catalyst for stronger nationalism and defensive developmentalism. Works Cited Ansary, Tamim. Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. Gelvin, James L. The Modern Middle East: A History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.