Middle East Since 1945

Introduction

The international system which emerged in the post world war II period was characterised by division of the world into two camps possessing faith in opposite political and economic programmes ideologies and systems of the government.

One camp was led by United States and chiefly consisted of countries, located in institutions and stood for promotion of individual human rights and equality before law. They believe in achieving this through private enterprise. This set of countries came to be known as Ð''Western Block'. As most of the countries of this block were industrial nations, it was also designated as countries of the Ð''First World.'

The second camp was headed by the Soviet Union and chiefly consisted of countries of Eastern Europe which possessed authoritarian governments. In these countries the collective proletariat and its party claimed to rule in the interests of the masses. They believe in expediting economic and social development through party and bureaucratic central planning. By and large, the countries of this block held faith in the idea of overthrowing bourgeois regimes. This block was also designated at the Ð''Social or the Anti-capitalist' camp.

In addition to these two blocks, a new group of states made their appearance in the 1950s, which did not belong to either of the above two blocks and began to be designated as the Ð''Third World'. Most of the countries of this group were either colonies of different power blocks and after attainment of independence decided to keep of the power blocks that had appeared in the post World War II period. These countries were mainly located in the Southern Hemisphere Ð'- Asia, Africa etc. Later on, some of the countries belonging to the Soviet Orbit such as Albania, Yugoslavia, Romania and Cuba also came to be included in the category of Third World countries. Similarly, some of those non-European states which were never under colonial rule were also described as third world countries. These were designated as third world countries more on the basis of their economic situation rather than their political alignment, geographical location, ideological orientation or governmental structure. In sort, we can say that economic under-development is the most salient feature of a Third World country.

MIDDLE EAST OR WESTERN ASIA

Its importance

Since the World War II, Middle East or Western Asia has been transformed into a dangerous cockpit of International Politics. Imperialists, nationalists, communists' neutralists, all entered into an unholy competition for winning over the peoples of this restless area. Spread on extreme nationalism is the chief factor of this post-war Middle East politics. There have been several reasons for its importance. All the European countries, for economic as well as strategic reasons are anxious to be in possession of the rich oil resources it and that has been a major source of conflict between different western powers. In fact, oil diplomacy has affected the international affairs in this area.

Huge oil wealth: This area is very rich in oil and all countries for strategic as well as economic reasons want to get hold of these resources. In order to drill oil several companies were established by the European countries. Great Britain, France, and America played a leading role in this respect. Not wanting to be isolated from the rest, after World War II, Russia also started taking keen interest in this region.

Arab nationalism and its opposition to Zionism: The Arabs are joined by bonds of religion as well as race. After the Second World War, a new awakening was generated and with the establishment of the Arab League in 1945, a wave of nationalism swept the Arab countries. Meanwhile, America tried to create a homeland for the Jews which was called Israel and the conflict between Islam and Zionism was one of the causes of the present clash between the Arab countries and Israel.

Struggle between progression and Feudal forces: In many of the Arab countries the feudal land lords had an upper way. On the other hand the progressive forces of these countries were anxious to do away with this type of social system. This has also been a cause of conflict in this area.

Dream of integration: Arab countries like Jordan, Lebanon etc were of different sizes integrated to form a united block called United Arab States. Pan- Arabism was gradually assuming a strong force. But the dispute and struggle between the U.A.R. and Iraq became a major obstacle in the way of an all-Arab movement in the Middle East. Taking this opportunity the big powers tried to extend their influence and for the lack of definite policy and able leadership the nationalist movement in the Middle East wasn't satisfactorily progressing.

[A.] TURKEY - Prior to World War I, Turkey occupied a very important place in this region. In fact it had an empire of its own. After the First World War, turkey was crushed and its empire was dismembered. In the meantime, Mustafa Kamal Pasha brought about a new change in the country. During the Second World War, Turkey was a neutral nation. After the Second World War, it joined the Western camp and is now a member of the C.E.N.T.O [Central Treaty Organisation] and the N.A.T.O. [North Atlantic Treaty Organisation] in fact with the growth of Russia, Turkey was afraid she had no other alternative but to join the American camp. Russia tried to bring about an uprising in that country but did not succeed. Today turkey plays a very minor role in the Arab region. In fact, its role has been taken over by USA or Egypt.

[B.] EGYPT Ð'- Egypt, also known as U.A.R had a glorious past. The Egyptian civilization was rich and even in the modern world, the Egyptians tried to come to their own. Egypt had been captured by Great Britain and the leaders of the nationalist movement always tried to overthrow the British yoke of slavery. After World War II, she got freedom and since then she has been trying to unite Arab countries in this region.

After Anglo-Egyptian conflict over the question of nationalisation of the Suez Canal, U.A.R assumed greater importance I n the politics of this region. During this period, U.A.R and President Nasser made an attempt to bring about the integration of the Arab countries in this region.

[C.] SYRIA: It was a country whose population did not even exceed one crore. Formerly, it was part of the Turkish Empire. But later, it was given away to France as a mandate-territory. After it gained independence, since 1945, there had been a clash between Syria and