Free Report on Political Unrest and Wars in the Arabian World: Impact on History, Change, and Continuity

Introduction

Since the middle of the last century, large-scale conflicts have been a significant challenge to the Arabian world, that is, the Middle East and North Africa. The region has encountered more regular and severe wars than any other country or jurisdiction worldwide. While some of them were not necessarily wars, but instead political unrests such as overthrowing governments, their effects on human existence were similar to other wars. Some of the memorable wars and political unrests in the Arabian world in the twentieth century include the Free Officers Revolution in Egypt in 1952, the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Arab Spring between 2010 and 2011, the Iran-Iraq War between 1980 and 1988, and the Iraq War between 2003 and 2011 (Cleveland & Bunton, 2008). These conflicts resulted in devastating consequences to human life but also led to some significant impacts. Like any war, the Arabian wars led to massive loss of lives, destruction of human property and institutions, deterioration of economies, straining of social systems, and displacement of people. However, these wars also resulted in some important and positive political developments in the respective countries where they occurred, the Arabian region, and the world. Therefore, the analysis conducted in this paper focuses on discussing the significance of the mentioned political unrests and wars to the history, change, and continuity in the Middle East.

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The Free Officers Revolution in Egypt (1952)

First, the revolution, which took place from the night of July 22 to 23 1952 led to the overthrowing of King Farouk and indicated the end of the direct influence of Britain in the state’s affairs (Poljarevic, 2009). In doing so, the revolution marked the beginning of new eras for both Britain and Egypt concerning the latter’s internal affairs. The revolution helped in abolishing the monarchy since the people were already tired of this corrupt system and continuous British influence. Later, the two countries signed a treaty that forced Britain to evacuate its troops from the Suez Canal zone within twenty months (Poljarevic, 2009).

Secondly, after rising to power, Nasser's efforts focused on rewriting university textbooks and school systems and adapting new ones that would fit Egypt’s perceived socio-political position in the Arab world (Tsourapas, 2018). In doing so, the country trained professionals who were later sent to other newly independent third-world nations and Egypt’s neighbors to support their developmental needs. Therefore, the Free Officers Revolution helped these countries that had been recently granted independence to make a smooth transition from their colonial masters to independent territories.

Thirdly, Nasser nationalized all the foreign assets in Egypt, which resulted in invasions by France, Israel, and Britain (Poljarevic, 2009). Despite losing the war, this strategic move made Nasser win the diplomatic victory, which led to the withdrawal of foreign military from the country and its neighboring territories. However, this only happened after the diplomatic interventions by the United States of America (USA) and the Soviet Union. Another significance of this revolution relates to its massive impact and inspiration to other countries across Africa and Asia to fight for change and independence. For example, the success of the Free Officers Revolution in Egypt inspired nationalist movements in Algeria and Kenya, where anti-colonial struggles against European powers were already happening (Egypt, 2008). Furthermore, it inspired people to topple the current pro-Western monarchies and governments in their respective areas.

The Iranian Revolution (1979)

Much like the Egyptian Revolution, the Iranian Revolution played a critical role in inspiring several Arab countries to oppose Western imperialism, influence, and intervention. For instance, it inspired the rise of Islamist insurgents in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt (Cleveland & Bunton, 2008). Besides, following the Iranian Revolution, Saudis found the opportunity to accelerate their efforts to spread Wahhabism through their global infrastructure. Also, they took the chance to expose the falseness of Khomeini’s vision of Islam by underscoring its Shia identity. As a result, the Saudis’ technique helped in nurturing the emergence of Sunni fundamentalism from Africa to countries in the Far East such as Indonesia (Ali & Aarabi, 2019). On the other hand, the tensions and unrest from the Iranian Revolution brought fear to the Soviet Union for a potential Islamic resurgence. As a result, the Soviet Union assisted Saudi Arabia in expanding its faith by invading Afghanistan. Elsewhere, the revolution increased the tensions between Iran and Iraq resulting in a war in 1980 between the two nations (Ali & Aarabi, 2019). Saudis and their allies from the Gulf joined forces to support Iraq, and the unity later became the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Arab Spring (2010-2011)

‌Starting in Tunisia, the Arab Spring spread to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and helped nations like Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain to stand against the oppressive regimes (Ayoob, 2012). In these countries, the protests resulted in the change of regimes, increased democracy, and cultural freedom. Besides, the Arab uprisings brought a sense of unity and togetherness among the citizens of different countries within the region. For instance, from Tunisia to Yemen, people united and came together with the sole aim of fighting for greater freedom. While some of the alliances have since collapsed, some of the friendships have remained to date.

Also, the Arab uprisings caused massive tensions and fears among some countries such as Saudi Arabia. For instance, Saudi Arabia was fearful of the threat posed by the Shia rebellions in Yemen and Bahrain. As a result, the country invited Jordan and Morocco to join the Gulf Cooperation Council as a strategic move to constrain Iran’s fast-growing influence in the region. The decision has resulted in a mutual friendship between the two countries. On the other end, while some regions experienced economic decline due to the Arab Spring, the events benefited and stabilized Dubai’s economy (Businesswire, 2013). The increase is mainly attributed to the country’s position as a major tourist destination, a better security system, and a trade center in the region. As indicated by Hamed Mokhtar of Fortress Investments, tourism in Dubai has boomed after the Arab Spring since tourists are eager to enjoy Dubai’s infrastructure, and political stability (Businesswire, 2013).

Iraq-Iran War (1980-1988)

The Iraq and Iran war that started on September 22, 1980, set the stage for far-reaching and lasting impacts that proved to be significant to the history of the Middle East (Zeidel, 2013). For both countries, despite deteriorating their economies and increasing the risks of further national crises, the war entrenched and stabilized their political systems. Furthermore, the war led to the deaths and injuries of over half a million civilians and soldiers, Iraq accumulated approximately 100 billion dollars and reduced manpower (Zeidel, 201). Based on the statistics, the war left a painful legacy that acted as an example for other countries in the Middle East that were considering any kind of conflict. The inspiration is clearly evident through the few modern wars or political upheavals that are not quite as long, bloody, and futile as the Iraq and Iran wars.

The war that lasted eight years along with the emergence of the Shiite theocracy in Iran led to the regional security and peace contours that shape contestations in the Middle East today (Alaaldin, 2020). For instance, Shiite Islamist groups and the proxies of Iran were the first parties to use the suicide bombing technique, which was adopted across the Middle East as a war tool. In doing so, and calling out Shiite populations in the region to rise up, the Iraq and Iran war helped in inspiring various jurisdictions to stand up against their governments and demand change and continuity.

The Iraq War (2003-2011)

The Iraq war, declared and led by the U.S. in 2003 intended to disarm the country and end Saddam’s reign as the President of Iraq (Wong, 2008). However, the war posed some widespread impacts that affected the broader Middle East. For instance, the war marked the beginning of Iraqi refugees to neighboring countries, including two million Iraqi citizens who fled to Jordan alone. On the other hand, the war benefited Iran which was at the time ruled by Shiite Persians and had close ties to Iraqi Shiite leaders. Therefore, Iran took advantage of the U.S. concentration on Iraq, to press its agenda across the Middle East and alerted the Sunni Arab nations (Wong, 2008).

In addition, the war mainly aimed at eliminating Saddam Hussein since he was considered a major threat to the security of the region. Therefore, the success of this mission by the U.S. reduced tensions in the Middle East significantly. Besides, the U.S. intended to transform the entire Middle East region into a democratic hub and address the democratic deficit in the area. By throwing Saddam’s autocratic regime, the U.S. inspired other Arab countries to pursue a similar direction.

References

Alaaldin, R. (2020, October 9). How the Iran-Iraq war will shape the region for decades to come. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/10/09/how-the-iran-iraq-war-will-shape-the-region-for-decades-to-come/

Ali, A., & Aarabi, K. (2019, February 11). Ideology and Iran’s Revolution: How 1979 Changed the World. Institute for Global Change. https://institute.global/policy/ideology-and-irans-revolution-how-1979-changed-world

Ayoob, M. (2012). The Arab Spring: Its Geostrategic Significance. Middle East Policy, 19(3), 84–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4967.2012.00549.x

Businesswire. (2013, July 10). Fortress Investments: The Positive Effects of the Arab Spring on Dubai’s Economy. Www.Businesswire.com. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130710005793/en/

Fortress-Investments-The-Positive-Effects-of-the-Arab-Spring-on-Dubai%E2%80%99s-EconomyCleveland, W. L., & Bunton, M. (2008). A History of the Modern Middle East (4th Edition). Westview Press.

Egypt | Boundless World History. (2008). Lumenlearning.com. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/egypt/

Poljarevic, E. (2009). Egypt, Revolution of 1952. In I. Ness (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest (pp. 1–4). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0501

Ronen Zeidel. (2013). Implications of the Iran-Iraq War. E-International Relations. https://www.e-ir.info/2013/10/07/implications-of-the-iran-iraq-war/

Tsourapas, G. (2018). Exporting the Free Officers’ Revolution. In The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt (pp. 59–89). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108630313.004

Wong, E. (2008, February 15). Overview: The Iraq War - New York Times. Nytimes.com. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/timestopics/topics_iraq.html‌