Middle East Conflict: Main Reasons

Middle East Conflict: Main Reasons

Question : The Middle East is in considerable turmoil right now. Discuss the main reasons for the conflict here.

• Jihadists, rebels, warlords and nationalists are creating patches of territory to suit their needs

• Border between Syria and Iraq is under the thumb of the IS

• Ethnic, tribal and religious leaders are running territories in Libya and Yeme

• The governments in Baghdad, Damascus, Tobruk and Sanaa are now unable to assert their will across the nation

• Oil is slipping out of government control

Some of the key reasons for the Middle East conflict are as follows:

- Failure of Arab nationalism;

- A lack of democratic development;

- Post-colonialism;

- Zionism;

- Western trade protectionism;

- Corruption and low education standards; and the

- Global revival of radical Islamism.

- But perhaps the most powerful force ripping Middle Eastern communities apart is sectarianism with Sunni and Shia Muslims engaged in violent conflict.

Facts and Stats

• Most of the nation states in the Middle East were created in the aftermath of the First World War through the Sykes-Picot agreement and arrangements made by the League of Nations

• This was a secret understanding concluded in May 1916, during World War 1, between Great Britain and France, with the approval of Russia, for the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire

• With the creation of Israel in 1948, Middle East conflict took a new turn