FINDING PEACE IN THE MIDDLE

EAST
Beverly Milton-Edwards. 2011. “Contemporary Politics in the
Middle-East, Third Edition” (Polity Press), Chapter 4.
Main Points

● Causes/Origins of conflict (Arab-Israeli hostility, Israeli-Palestinian

conflict, Suez Crisis of 1956, Arab-Arab: Brothers at arms,
Arab-Iranian relations, Lebanon Conflict)
● Possible factors that lead to conflicts
● Thoughts on: Why peace and political stability have often been so
difficult to achieve in the region?
1600
The two primary rulers in the region
were the Ottoman and Safavid
Empires. The Ottoman Empire began
in the 1300s in what is now Turkey.
Between 1516 and 1517, the Ottomans
conquered the Arab provinces. The
Safavid Empire, based in what is today
Iran, lasted from 1501-1722.

Reference
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/maps/poltext.html
1880
In the 1700s and 1800s, the
once-powerful Ottoman Empire started
to lose power. Great Britain, France,
and Russia were on the hunt for new
territories to conquer and began to
interfere in the affairs and territories of
the Ottoman Empire and Egypt.

Reference
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/maps/poltext.html
1920
In 1919, the British and French
implemented the 1916 Sykes-Picot
Agreement and divided the Arab world
into nation-states. The League of
Nations recognized these borders and
allotted "mandates" to the French and
British to govern these states until it
was determined that they were ready
for independence.

Reference
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/maps/poltext.html
2002
These are the current internationally
recognized boundaries in the Middle
East. Disputed boundaries are
indicated with a dotted line.

Reference
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/maps/poltext.html
Arab-Israeli War of 1948: The first Arab-Israeli war
● The first war began when Israel declared itself an independent state following the United
Nations’ partition of Palestine.

● Protesting this move, five Arab countries—Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—attacked
Israel. The conflict ended with Israel gaining considerable territory.

● Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee or are driven from their land

● Israeli-Palestinian War: As a local conflict

Suez Crisis of 1956: The second Arab-Israeli war

● The Suez Crisis begins when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser
nationalized the British and French-owned Suez Canal.
President Nasser nationalized the canal, hoping to charge tolls that would pay for construction of a massive dam on the
Nile River.

● It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea,
allowing goods to be shipped between Europe and Asia more directly.
The Lebanon Wars of 1982, 2006
● In June 1982, Israel invaded South Lebanon in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War,
purportedly in retaliation for the attempted assassination of the Israeli Ambassador to
England.

● In July 2006, Hezbollah launched an operation against Israel in an attempt to pressure the
country into releasing Lebanese prisoners.
Debated factors that lead to conflicts

1. Traditional state-to-state rivalries

2. Conflicts over natural resources such as oil or water

3. Sectarian and ethno-national disputes

4. The role of external factors such as international actors and climate

In the more than 45 years since the Middle East war of June 1967, there have
been many peace plans and many negotiations.

1. UN Security Council Resolution 242, 1967

2. Camp David Accords, 1978
3. The Madrid Conference, 1991
4. Oslo Agreement, 1993
5. Camp David, 2000
6. Taba, 2001
7. Arab Peace Initiative, 2002
8. Roadmap, 2003
9. Geneva Accord, 2003
10. Annapolis, 2007
11. Washington, 2010
The answer to peace: Possible solutions

● “Two-state Solution”

● “One-state Solution”

● Other solutions: Confederation, Autonomy-Plus, Federation, Expulsion

Comments on the material:

I personally think, the material serves as an introductory text to the Middle

East history of war and peace. It gave enough details and explanation in the
chapter which discusses the origins of the conflicts in the region, the
underlying factors, as well as the solutions to be done in addressing the
Middle East ongoing conflicts.
The material is not that hard to read, greatly intended for undergraduate
students who study major parts of this field. It gave a clear overview to the
dispute especially with the addition of some case studies.
Argument:

I think it all rooted to the Europeans controlling the land. Their broken promises
and the borders they made for the Middle East, which were drawn during World
War I by a Briton, Mark Sykes, and a Frenchman, Francois Picot.
The Sykes-Picot agreement delineated national borders based more on British and
French interests than local conditions which was an insensitive move that been
made.
Because of the colonial powers decision to partition the region, it showed that
there were serious negative consequences for the countries of the Middle East.
And I think this is more of a war that includes all issues at hand. Not just over
territory. But also with culture, religion, political, economical, and security.