From the First World War to the Arab Spring: What’s Really Going On in the Middle East?

278 Pages·2016·1.63 MB·English

by  M. E. McMillan (auth.)

M. E. McMILLAN
WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON
IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
MET
Middle East
Today
Praise for From the First World War to the Arab Spring:
What’s Really Going On in the Middle East?
“The significance of this book lies in its contextualization of the Arab Spring
uprisings and the legacies of the First World War, as well as in its analysis of how
these large-scale ruptures have shaken the modern Middle Eastern state system
to its foundation.”
—Fawaz A. Gerges, Emirates Chair of Contemporary Middle Eastern
Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and
author of C ontentious Politics in the Middle East
“ M. E. McMillan successfully throws light on why the disasters that engulf the
Middle East grow worse by the day. She does this in a series of brief, stimulating
essays that challenge the reader to think hard about the topics she discusses. She
clearly cares deeply about the area’s problems, and those reading the book will be
enlightened and will finish up sharing her cares. Well worth a close read!”
—Alan Jones, Emeritus Professor of Classical Arabic,
University of Oxford, UK
“Sweeping in scope and meticulous in coverage, F rom the First World War to
the Arab Spring: What’s Really Going On in the Middle East? is essential read-
ing for anyone seeking an in-depth understanding of the historical evolution of
the modern Middle East. Wonderfully written, M. E. McMillan captures the full
magnitude of the social, political, and economic forces that have transformed
the Arab world and redefined its position within the global order. McMillan has
produced a work of exceptional lucidity that scholars, students, and policymak-
ers alike will consult for years to come.”
—Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow of the Middle East, Baker
Institute at Rice University, USA, and author of T he Gulf
States in International Political Economy
“M. E. McMillan’s timely book From the First World War to the Arab Spring:
What’s Really Going On in the Middle East? judiciously puts the current creative
crisis in the region in a necessary historical context, pulling us back to the inau-
gural year of 1914 when the continued legacy of European imperialism was yield-
ing to the rising global American power and the transition framing the eventual
formation of postcolonial nation-states that seem to be crumbling right in front
of our eyes today. More critical and informed studies like McMillan’s are much
needed if the cascade of the daily news is not to dull the edge of our critical think-
ing ahead in an increasingly tumultuous and yet ultimately liberating historical
moment.”
—Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian
Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University,
USA, and author of B eing a Muslim in the World
“To begin understanding why the Middle East is falling apart today, read
M. E. McMillan’s beautifully written and admirably succinct book From the First
World War to the Arab Spring: What’s Really Going On in the Middle East? She
unravels with verve the clash of empires that preceded the violent dismantling
of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. But most importantly, she ana-
lyzes with clarity the contradictory principles and conflicting interests that were
embedded in the new Middle East. Not only were borders drawn haphazardly at
war’s end, but also the Great Powers insisted that Middle Eastern peoples take on
new identities. Enlightenment concepts such as nationalism, constitutionalism,
and separation of church and state were imposed at the point of a gun. Today, that
order is in shambles, despite—or perhaps because of—multiple interventions.
McMillan is a wonderful guide. I will be assigning it to my students.”
—Joshua Landis, Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
and Associate Professor at the College of International Relations,
University of Oklahoma, USA
“A lively and engaging book that sheds great clarity on a century of Middle
Eastern conflict.”
—Eugene Rogan, Associate Professor of the Modern History of the Middle
East and Director of the Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College,
University of Oxford, UK, and author of T he Arabs: A History
and The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East
Middle East Today
Series editors:
Fawaz A. Gerges
Professor of International Relations
Emirates Chair of the Modern Middle East
Department of International Relations
London School of Economics
Nader Hashemi
Director, Center for Middle East Studies
Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics
Josef Korbel School of International Studies
University of Denver
The Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the US
invasion and occupation of Iraq have dramatically altered the geopolitical land-
scape of the contemporary Middle East. The Arab Spring uprisings have compli-
cated this picture. This series puts forward a critical body of first-rate scholarship
that reflects the current political and social realities of the region, focusing on
original research about contentious politics and social movements; political
institutions; the role played by nongovernmental organizations such as Hamas,
Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Other themes of interest include Iran and Turkey as emerging preeminent pow-
ers in the region, the former an “Islamic Republic” and the latter an emerging
democracy currently governed by a party with Islamic roots; the Gulf monar-
chies, their petrol economies and regional ambitions; potential problems of
nuclear proliferation in the region; and the challenges confronting the United
States, Europe, and the United Nations in the greater Middle East. The focus of
the series is on general topics such as social turmoil, war and revolution, interna-
tional relations, occupation, radicalism, democracy, human rights, and Islam as
a political force in the context of the modern Middle East.
Ali Shari’ati and the Shaping of Political Islam in Iran
Kingshuk Chatterjee
Religion and the State in Turkish Universities: The Headscarf Ban
Fatma Nevra Seggie
Turkish Foreign Policy: Islam, Nationalism, and Globalization
Hasan K ö sebalaban
Nonviolent Resistance in the Second Intifada: Activism and Advocacy
Edited by Maia Carter Hallward and Julie M. Norman
The Constitutional System of Turkey: 1876 to the Present
Ergun Ö zbudun
Islam, the State, and Political Authority: Medieval Issues and Modern Concerns
Edited by Asma Afsaruddin
Bahrain from the Twentieth Century to the Arab Spring
Miriam Joyce
Palestinian Activism in Israel: A Bedouin Woman Leader in a Changing Middle East
Henriette Dahan-Kalev and Emilie Le Febvre with Amal El’Sana-Alh’jooj
Egypt Awakening in the Early Twentieth Century: Mayy Ziyadah’s Intellectual Circles
Boutheina Khaldi
The Social and Economic Origins of Monarchy in Jordan
Tariq Moraiwed Tell
Palestinians in the Israeli Labor Market: A Multi-disciplinary Approach
Edited by Nabil Khattab and Sami Miaari
State, Religion, and Revolution in Iran, 1796 to the Present
Behrooz Moazami
Political Islam in the Age of Democratization
Kamran Bokhari and Farid Senzai
The Role of Ideology in Syrian-US Relations: Conflict and Cooperation
J. K. Gani
“Dual Containment” Policy in the Persian Gulf: The USA, Iran, and Iraq, 1991–2000
Alex Edwards
Hezbollah, Islamist Politics, and International Society
Filippo Dionigi
Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War
Bryan R. Gibson
Jimmy Carter and the Middle East: The Politics of Presidential Diplomacy
Daniel Strieff
Contentious Politics in the Middle East: Popular Resistance and Marginalized
Activism beyond the Arab Uprisings
Edited by Fawaz A. Gerges
From the First World War to the Arab Spring: What’s Really Going On in the
Middle East?
M. E. McMillan
From the First World War
to the Arab Spring
What’s Really Going On
in the Middle East?
M. E. McMillan
FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR TO THE ARAB SPRING
Copyright © M. E. McMillan 2016
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-522-1-6
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this
publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written
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copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10
Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published 2016 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
The author has asserted their right to be identified as the author of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers
Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One
New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
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ISBN: 978–1–137–52204–7
E-PDF ISBN: 978–1–137–52202–3
DOI: 10.1057/9781137522023
Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave
Macmillan®, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in
England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McMillan, M. E., author.
From the First World War to the Arab Spring : what’s really going on
in the Middle East? / M.E. McMillan.
pages cm.—(Middle East today)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–1–137–52204–7 (paperback)
1. Middle East—History—20th century. 2. Middle East—History—
21st century. 3. Middle East—Politics and government—20th century.
4. Middle East—Politics and government—21st century. 5. Political
culture—Middle East. I. Title.
DS62.8.M46 2015
956.04—dc23 2015018133
A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library.
For my late grandfather William (Bill) Milford
And for my great friend Rosie Cleary

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Note on Conventions xiii
Introduction Lost in the Labyrinth: What’s Really Going
On in the Middle East? 1
Part I The Tangled Web: Why the Great Powers
of Europe Became Involved in the Middle East
1 Sarajevo: Sunday, June 28, 1914 9
2 The British Empire and the Arab World: Ambition, Austerity,
and a Class Apart 15
3 The French Empire and the Arab World: From the
Crusades to the Civilizing Mission 25
4 The Russian Empire and the Arab World: Religion,
Royalty, and the New Rome 39
5 The German Empire and the Arab World: Family Feuds
and Eastern Ambitions 47
6 The Ottoman Empire: How the Arab World Was
Won and Lost 55
Part II Too Many Straight Lines on the Map: Where,
When, and Why It Started to Go Wrong
7 London: Tuesday, December 21, 1915 69
8 The Arab World before the War: The Facts on the Ground 77
9 The Remaking of the Middle East: Enter the Nation-State 89