Arab nationalism in the years 1900-2001 Essay

How signifi displacet was the bearing of orthogonal powers as an see on the nature and growth of Arab patriotism in the years 1900-2001 passim the century it is obvious that the presence of unlike powers has had a pregnant work pop on the nature and growth of Arab patriotism which has suffered some summits and troughs all over the years. The fluctuations of Arab patriotism have come as a by product of what is a combination of foreign countrys power hungry self interest and demand for greater inborn resources such as rock anoint and greater land. What was once a strong anti-ottoman jot in the earlier 1900s began to demote largely into anti west sentiments which were largely gear towards anti imperialism once the authorisation system was set up during the 1920s. yet, after(prenominal)(prenominal) conflict between borders and a continuing anti Zionist rawness shown during the Arab Israeli conflict, Arab nationalism began to rise through the 1950s and peaked after the Suez crisis, and a largely anti imperialist action of nationalising the television channel in 1956.Over the century the Arab Israeli conflict has been more(prenominal)(prenominal) of an integral act upon on Arab nationalism than every other. The 1917 Balfour Declaration recognized the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine severely down the stairsmining the Sykes-Picot agreement1 that had aimed to hand over control of Syria, Lebanon and Turkish Cilicia to the French and Palestine, Jordan, and Baghdad to the British. Walter Zander vies that this declaration was simply out of British strategic interest2 Increased Jewish immigration in to Palestine added greater strain to tensions between them and the Arab states. Problems continued in 1936 when Arabs launched a spontaneous rebellion against British rule and the increasing Zionist presence in Palestine3. Arab nationalism had developed into an anti imperialist ideology avocation the mandate system created and maintai ned and increased its anti Zionist feelings more and more.During the post World war Two power point in 1945 partnership of Arab States was founded and Egypt, Syria, and Iraq and Lebanon united to work for Arab independence and to oppose Zionist aspirations in Palestine4.With emphasis between Arabs and Jews r all(prenominal)ing uncontrollable levels and Britain withdrawing its military personnel from Palestine in 1948. Moshe Gat stated that Egypt, and indeed the entire Arab world, regarded the establishment of the state of Israel as one of the most heinous crimes in history,5 emphasizing how much antagonism the Arabs truly met Israel with. Israeli troops took the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt in 1954 and with Nasser recently seizing power, a strong anti Zionist feeling was further developing. Following the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956 when Nasser acted against the British and their imperialism showing the Arab world they had a voice, significantly more Arab masses began to follow him, and his anti Zionist ideology allowing Arab nationalism to peak during these years.Martin Kramer supports this by highlighting how young colonels, such as Nasser now precious to propel the Arab world to unity, power and prosperity.6 The beingness of the PLO in 1964 supports this by demonstrating the anti-imperialistic views Nasser wanted to implement, and by doing so, making his anti Zionist feelings heard labeling them the forces of evil7 The Arab Israeli conflict reached boiling layer in 1967 resulting in the outbreak of the 6-Day War after border clashes between Israeli and Syrian forces.8 The govern of Britain and France was substantial as they clearly sympathized with Israel. Deals such as the Sykes Picot agreement and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 highlighted their imperialistic intentions and sympathy towards Israel. This clearly promoted greater anti-Zionist feeling amongst the Arab world and would eventually develop into a strong anti-west feeling that provided a pl atform for Arab nationalism to hold dark from.Despite there being a strong anti Ottoman feeling during the early 1900s, World War One was a catalyst for change and in 1920 a clear turning point transpired. In 1915 the McMahon Correspondence came about where under McMahons demands, Hussein would support the Arabs to revolt against the Ottoman Empire and enter World War I on the side of the allies in return for the independence of Arab states. A meeting was held in order to decide the fate of territories formally under Ottoman control. The confederation of Nations awarded a mandate over Syria to France, and a mandate over Israel and Palestine to Britain. The confederacy of Nations took no territorial integrity into shape when doing this, and, run by the allies, self interest took priority as each vied for power within the Middle eastward.Dr Nigel Ashton supports this by stating that the mandates sowed the dragons odontiasis which eventually grew into a complex of tensions and despotisms that constitute the contemporary Middle East9 The creation of the new modern states was carried with no cultural, historical or governmental knowledge over where the ideal agency to establish borders would be, and therefore, without regard to natural or human boundaries, they were do according to distinct territorial entities. The creation of these states meant that each one had to follow self interest and this created border disputes among Arab states for oil and strategic assets. Essentially, the mandate system can be seen as the archetypal manifestation of the ultimate goal to abrogate the colonial system10 which many European states were still pursuing. Lebanon gained independence from France in 1943, as did Syria11 and this was a period where many post-colonial nations in the region were first feeling their nationalist muscle, a prime example being Egypt and Nasser during Suez Canal Crisis in 1956.Consequently, tensions rose and Arab nationalism became anti imper ialist and anti west cod to the burden they had move on the Arab nations. The creation of independent states was besides an important issue in the decolonization process, 12 which would have affect in the long term removal of European power in the Middle East. However, the border disputes also took place amongst the Arabs themselves and great distrust began to emerge, as was evident when Iraq invaded capital of Kuwait after a border dispute over oil in 1980. The Kuwaiti administration had hoped to force Mr. Hussein to the bargaining table, and negotiate a border cease-fire and a non-aggression pact. Instead, Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait driving its ruling family into exile. henry M. Schuler, states that from the Iraqi viewpoint, the Kuwait Government was acting aggressively it was economic warfare.13 Moreover it can be argued that if not for leaders such as that of Kuwait and Hussein himself, these disputes may never have occurred.Further influence on Arab nationalism has been the Superpower statuses of USSR and the U.S.A. In response to the U.S.As refusal to fund Nassers plan to build the Aswan High Dam, he nationalised the Suez Canal in 195614. Martin Kramer describes Nassers next astute move as positive neutralism, 15as he contend foreign powers against each other and instantly received funding from the USSR. Arab nationalism subsequently seemed to be aligning with the USSR through Nasser and it seemed that although the Arab states followed an anti imperialistic ideology towards Britain, they contradicted themselves by allowing the Soviet core to have a sphere of influence within the Middle East. double-uern powers grew to perceive Arab nationalism as a threat rather than a political idea to positively oblige with, a succession of aggressive and ill-considered policies led Arab states to turn to the Soviet Union for support.In 1955 the Bagdad Pact that was signed however was an model(a) Cold War agreement reflecting the priority the Eisenhower ad ministration gave to containment of the Soviet Union through collective security agreements.16 This pact led Iraq into alignment with the U.S.A and after previously being non-aligned, clear divisions became evident throughout Arab nationalism. The pact indicates the chemise of the passive negative principle of nonalignment into an active and positive insurance of neutrality. Fayez Sayegh highlights the importance of the Bagdad Pact stating that it fundamentally brought the cold war from the outskirts and into the Arab world.17 Moreover, it became evident that the policy of neutrality followed by Arab nationalist now meant independence. This allowed for the pursuit of self interest without ideologic constraint meaning they didnt have an ideological characteristic and could pursue things simple because it was in their own interest and naught else. Arab transaction with the U.S.A deteriorated after their ties with Israel did not agree with Arab nationalism and the strong anti-Zionis t feeling which was promoted by leaders such as Nasser. This was in contrast to the comparisons with the Soviet Union who had strengthened their ties with the Arab states by supplying them with arms since 1955.18Furthermore, we can not overlook the cultural instructions and this largely stemmed from the repercussions of the Ottoman Empire. Turkification in itself as Martin Kramer states, threatened the cultural status quo.19 Kramer shrewdly illustrates how this clearly raised(a) the need for a violate a separate Arab identity. The Arabs rebelled against the Ottomans and longed for a separate cultural identity in relation to their writings and language. Arab identity was out-of-pocket to their own religion and language for a long time foreign presence acted as glue to foreign imperialism creating a bond of solidarity.Martin Kramer goes on to note that the Arabs did share a vague admiration for the liberal democracies of the West20 implying that Arabism did not develop into full- fledged nationalism straight away, but did argue for the existence of secular Arab culture. Nevertheless, the discontent Arab states shared during the Ottoman period came to be known as the Arab awakening and this cultural revival evidently decreased the influence of foreign powers within the Middle East allowing Arab nationalism to grow. This however was not always a simple task as the make do was not only against anti-imperialism, but against the would be Arabs themselves. Nationalists aimed to educate them to an Arab identity, preferably by persuasion and not by force.To conclude, I believe the presence of foreign powers throughout the past century has been extremely significant in relation to the nature and growth of Arab nationalism. As Martin Kramer states, Arab nationalism re manifests rapid birth, rise, and decline of any modern nationalism highlighting the result of inconsistent ideologies, and the broad spectrum of countries which were present in the Middle East over the last one cytosine years. Foreign powers have continuously had an influence on nationalism in the Middle East beginning from the Ottoman Empire during the early 1900s, and spanning into its anti-imperialist development sparked by the presence of Britain and France and the creation of the Mandate system by the League of Nations.Due to the on going Arab Israeli conflict Arab nationalism has essentially always been anti-Zionist and this peaked through the years after the Suez Canal Crisis where Nasserism took off and Arab states united to support their anti imperialist policy. The increasing influence of the USSR due to frequent arms deals cemented their place in the Arab world however the U.S.A did not share this same luxury as it leaned towards Israel. Eventually peace settlements were made in the Middle East as in 1969 where Israel accepted the resoluteness 242.21Word Count________________1 Teach MidEast www.teachmideast.org2 Arab Nationalism and Israel Walter Zander3 Teach MidEa st www.teachmideast.org4 Teach MidEast www.teachmideast.org5 Nasser and the Six Day War 5th June 1967- Moshe Gat6 Arab nationalism erroneous identity element Martin Kramer7 Palestine National Charter of 19648 Teach MidEast www.teachmideast.org9 Dr Nigel Ashton, review of Western Imperialism in the Middle East, 1914195810 Civilization and the Mandate System under the League of Nations as Origin of Trusteeship Nele Matz11 people.virginia.edu/jrw3k/middle_east_timeline/middle_east_timeline.htm12 Civilization and the Mandate System under the League of Nations as Origin of Trusteeship Nele Matz13 Thomas C. Hayes, 199014 Teach MidEast www.teachmideast.org15 Arab nationalism ill-judged Identity Martin Kramer16 Jankowski, James. Nassers Egypt, Arab Nationalism, and the United Arab Republic17 Arab nationalism and Soviet-American relations Fayez Sayegh18 www.labour-history.org.uk- appraise the impact of the Suez Crisis on Cold War politics19 Arab nationalism Mistaken Identity Martin Kr amer20 Arab nationalism Mistaken Identity Martin Kramer21 Teach MidEast www.teachmideast.org