Indeed, many of todays leading proliferation risks are arrayed along an arc stretching from algeria to pakistan. The underlying causes of stability and instability in the. Conflicts are proliferating in the middle east and north africa mena. Russia, china, iran and turkey have a good prospect of working together to settle the crisis in syria and the middle east. Meanwhile, the united states is being sucked back into the region. The middle east conflict in outline parliament of australia. The region now faces unprecedented challenges, including the emergence of violent nonstate actors, significant destruction, and a refugee crisis bigger than any since world war ii. An overview of the crisis in the middle east henleyputnam. The 1973 oil crisis by sarah horton pennsylvania envirothon. Subject terms middle east, north africa, popular uprisings. The farflung consequences, i will argue, require careful attention and cautious management from the international community headed by the united states, should the latter seek to preserve its pivotal role in the region. Sectarianism in the middle east increasingly, policy decisions are being made based on the assumptions that the middle east is riven by a purely dualistic sectarian war between sunni and shia muslims, that sectarian identity is immutable, and that the underlying sectarian problems in the region are intractable. Arab spring used their powers vehemently to crush the demonstrators and consequently the peaceful protesters also became violent.
The arab states refused to accept the presence of a jewish state in palestine. An attack can be rooted in religious, social, or political conflicts such as when one community is oppressed by another. This is a list of modern conflicts in the middle east ensuing in the geographic and political region known as the middle east. During modern times, the middle east has experienced over 80 conflicts e.
Abdullah toukana senior associate at csis and president and ceo of strategic international risk assessment sira in dubai. Sources of conflict in the greater middle east 173. When saddam fell, and the taliban government in afghanistan fell, the us found out something to their shock. This huge region extends from the maghreb, comprising morocco, algeria, tunisia, libya, and sometimes mauritania, into the mashriq, comprising. Between the two world wars, the zionist congress attempted to foster an eventual jewish majority by advancing the cause of jewish immigration to. Causes of the arab spring causes of the arab spring may be described as following. They have many underlying causes, and causes that that vary sharply by country.
Unfortunately, the strategic partnership between the global hegemon and two regional hegemons israel and india, will continue to pose serious security problems to the middle east as well as to pakistan. United states and israel calling for a deliberate broadening of the conflict to syria and iran in an attempt to solve all the contentious. How the refugee crisis is transforming the middle east. Since the founding of the state of israel in 1948, the middle east had been a hotbed of ongoing crisis. The middle east conflicta brief background global issues. This is the extent of the ottoman caliphate under suleiman the magnificent. Because of the tribal makeup of the middle east, getting rid of a brutal dictator led straight to civil war. The middle east and north africa region is in turmoil. Pdf the middle east conflict has been fiercely debated by politicians and religious and professional. Terrorism can take multiple forms and have many causes, often more than one. Chapter four sources of conflict in the greater middle east. The irc has the opportunityand responsibilityto ensure that meeting humanitarian needs remains at the center of the response to the worst refugee crisis since the second world war. The economic impact of conflicts and the refugee crisis in.
Root causes of conflict and terrorism in the middle east. Indeed, there are voices in the united states and israel calling for a deliberate broadening of the conflict to syria and iran. Much of the conflict and unrest in the region stem from a. The ostensible triggers of the crisis were inflammatory remarks allegedly made by the emir of qatar and a continued. No real or lasting peace will be achieved in the area until israel. Water availability has for millennia shaped the culture of the people in the part of the world now commonly referred to as the middle east and north africa. Five reasons the middle east is in crisis newsnight. The end of a country, and the start of a new dark age in a new book, our veteran correspondent documents the forces that wreaked havoc on an entire region. One of the acute periods of crisis came with israel. Yet, the region constitutes the greatest single reserve of oil in the world, which has made it a regular source of foreign interference in. Banks in the middle east and north africa weathered the effects of the global financial crisis as well as could be expected i and in the main have strengthened in the intervening years. The common slogan of the protesters throughout arab spring was the people want to bring down the regime aissa, 2012.
Leadership and impact the irc is uniquely positioned to advance humanitarian responses to this crisis in the most effective ways. Loosely defined, terrorism is the use of violence to further a political or ideological goal at the expense of the general population. Some of these interests are specific to the region, but most are closely linked to broader, systemic interests in stability, nonproliferation, energy security, and evolutionary versus revolutionary change. The middle east peacemakers for the most part act with the highest of intentions and the most exquisite patience. Conversely, one might be prone to ask to what degree the eruption of the arab uprisings and civil war in syria has invited usrussian competition over regional spheres of influence, if not hegemony. Iranian president says museums and historical sites to reopen on. The middle east is one of the most conflictprone regionsbutwhy. In 1948, three quarters of a million palestinians were driven from what became israel, their homes, land and possessions taken over by the new jewish state. The international panel on climate change ipcc projects that the middle east and north africa mena will be one of the worlds regions hit hardest by climate change in the 21st century, particularly due to increased heat and aridity. While many have traced the causes of these crises to the drawing of borders by the colonial powers of france and britain and the multi confessional or multi. The recent dispute between qatar and some of its neighbors saudi arabia, egypt, the uae, and bahrain is the most serious dispute among them in years and has the potential to further destabilize an already turbulent region. Middle east crisis a sharpening of the contradictions after world war ii between the forces of imperialism and the forces of progress that resulted from the aggressive actions of the imperialist powers and international zionism against the national liberation movement of the peoples of the arab east. Conflict and terrorism has always existed throughout the world. Indeed, there are voices in the united states and israel calling for a deliberate broadening of the conflict to syria and iran in an attempt to solve all the contentious issues of the region at once.
The middle east is traditionally defined as the fertile crescent mesopotamia, levant, and egypt and neighboring areas of arabia, anatolia and iran. There are several causes of water crises in the middle east such as rainfall variability in its countries and has its impact on agriculture, vegetati on, grazing and underground water. But the bank group can play a role in mitigating the underlying causes of the violence and instability. Therefore, any attempt to understand todays middle east crisis must begin with examining the schisms essentially the civil war within islam that are fueling the ongoing violent clashes.
This answer will strike any as a copout off other answers but it really isnt, because when you really think about it, its all of them. Root causes of the middle east crisis pakistan defence. The middle east, already the worlds most volatile region, faces some of its toughest challenges in a century. Middle east crisis article about middle east crisis by. The cause of the middle east conflict and the socalled. Introduction the middle east region faces abundant challenges in the shadows of international changes might be the most. Causes and consequences of middle east conflicts post arab. But, no place is nowadays more appropriate for the emergence of terrorist activities than the middle east. Without political, socioeconomic, territorial or ethnic and sectarian conflict and problems, it is hard to find even one nationstate. The suez crisis began on july 26, 1956, when egyptian president, gamal abdel nasser, nationalized the suez canal. List of modern conflicts in the middle east wikipedia. Rethinking the deeper causes and the current interpretations it is not new that for a long time now many discussions. How the refugee crisis is transforming the middle east a displaced syrian child carries broomsticks as he walks through a refugee camp in alhawl. In recent decades, the middle east and north africa region mena has experienced more frequent and severe conflicts than in any other region of the world, exacting a devastating human toll.
What you must know about the schisms fueling todays violent upheavals. The current global wave of terrorist violence, in many ways, was fuelled by conflicts and events in the middle east, particularly the enduring arabisraeli conflict and issue. Israel and palestinian territories do not have oil themselves, but are surrounded by states that do. The conflict in the middle east threatens the stability of the world today. An overview of the crisis in the middle east middle east conflagration. Cordesman, the burke chair in strategy at the csis, and dr. Unfolding the middle east crisis institute for cultural. United states foreign policy in the middle east after the cold war jonathan cristol 48 4. What then has stymied the middle easts economic development. The underlying causes of the crises and upheavals in the middle. What are the causes of conflict in the middle east. This document sets out the ircs aspirations for responding to the refugee crisis in europe and the middle east. Sources of conflict in the greater middle east 175 security terms.
The 1973 oil crisis by sarah horton in october of 1973 middleeastern opec nations stopped exports to the us and other western nations. The pointed silence regarding the palestinian right of return means that an important opportunity has been missed to apprise israelis, and the world, of a critical reality. However, instead of extinguishing the conflict, they have prolonged it. By the end of 2014, just 14% of the worlds displaced people lived in the developed. It started in iraq as shia iran vied for control in the fellow shia country. We all are familiar with the ongoing conflict in the middle east.
The political dynamics and violence that shape the current series of crises in the middle east and north africa mena and daily events in bahrain, egypt, iran, iraq, lebanon, libya, tunisia, syria, and yemen dominate the current course of virtually every aspect of these states including much of the current course of violence and instability in the region. It currently encompasses the area from egypt, turkey and cyprus in the west to iran and the persian gulf in the east. From the steps taken so far, it is not clear to me that american foreign policy is part of. The seemingly sudden rise of the islamic state of iraq and the levant isil, also known as the islamic state of iraq and syria, isis in the summer of 2014 to be come the middle east regions most dangerous threat has shocked and puzzled most western observers. The underlying causes of stability and unrest in the. Drought and poor management of resources have led to financial hardship, protests and strained relationships across the region. Causes, consequences and policy responses starting in mid2007, the global financial crisis quickly metamorphosed from the bursting of the housing bubble in the us to the worst recession the world has witnessed for over six decades.
This is a dangerous moment for the middle east, because the conflicts in gaza and lebanon could easily escalate to involve the broader region. The ostensible reason for the nationalization was to use the tolls to nance the building of the aswan dam. The 1956 suez crisis on july 26, 1956, egyptian president gamal abdel nasser nationalized the suez canal. Founded in 1933 at the call of albert einstein, the ircs core mission is to serve people forced to flee from war, conflict. Conflict and diplomacy in the middle east einternational relations.
The us up to now has said it will not talk to syria or iran because they are part of the problem. So too has the arabisraeli conflict and myriad others. While the roots of ethnosectarian conflict in the middle east are manifold, there is little doubt that the concocted new cold war between the united states and russia has further fanned the flames in syria and across the region. Hence, before starting analyzing the specific cases of the. Mark urban on the scale of the turmoil in the middle east and its potential danger for the region and for the world. Terrorism is a wellestablished mode of conflict on the middle eastern scene. They meant to punish the western nations that supported israel, their foe, in the yom kippur war, but they also realized the strong. Crisis in the middle east this is a dangerous moment for the middle east, because the conflicts in gaza and lebanon could easily escalate to involve the broader region. Globalism, regionalism and the middle east aysegul sever 16 2. To put the discussion in sharper focus, some, who view the present situation in the middle east as the fulfillment of prophecy, believe christians must strongly support israel and encourage escalation of. Crisis in the middle east ethnic and religious tensions ran high in jesus day too. The middle easts geographical and strategic uniqueness has made every great power in history to seek to advance its interests in the region. Rethinking the deeper causes and the current interpretations it is not new that for a long time now many discussions have been raised about the nature and the success of the current peacebuilding agenda and about the correlation of peace and development. The next banking crisis will not be in the middle east.