Why was the Arab World Poised for Revolution?

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Recommended: The “Arab Spring” revolutions

The authoritarian regimes of the Middles cycled through a pattern of anti-western policy until the globalization effects of economics and information demanded reform. As conservative Arab states try to maintain the autocracy they relied on after gaining independence, their citizens, affected by information and education expansion, challenge their resistant governments as typified by Syria’s unwillingness to capitulate. The proliferation of information and education underscored the protest movements of the Arab Spring because citizens’ contempt for their obstinate governments grew to large under economic pressures, as the current situation in Syria demonstrates. The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during their process of establishing independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent and self-sufficient states free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. In an attempt to promote nationalistic independence, the states of the region immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948 when Israel declared independence. Israel represented then and now an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict typifies this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention to the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance for both sides, yet the two hegemons of the Cold War now needed to recognize the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states. With their statehood and power cemented, the Middle Easte... ... middle of paper ... ...996. Print. Huntington, Samuel P. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968. Print. Jouejati, Murhaf. “Syrian Motives for Its WMD Programs and What to Do about Them.” Middle East Journal, vol. 59, No. 1 (Winter 2005), pp. 52-61. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. New York: Scribner, 1995. Print. National Geographic. Cradle & Crucible: History and Faith in the Middle East. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2002. Print. Nye, Joseph S., and David A. Welch. Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. Talhamy, Yvette. “The Syrian Muslim Brothers and the Syrian-Iranian Relationship.” Middle East Journal, Vol. 63, No. 4 (Autumn, 2009), pp. 561-580. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.

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