The Middle East: The Rise and Fall of an Idea

The Ottoman Empire governed the Middle East for four centuries. Following the defeat of the Ottomans by the Allies during the First World War, that political system was swept away. In its place came a system of new states in Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia; a raft of violent ethnic, religious and nationalist conflicts; and the establishment of autocratic elites and Zionist colonialists propped up by Western empires and the international community. This research project is the first study of the ideas that shaped the West's attempt to replace the Ottoman Empire, their origins, evolution and effects.

This research focuses on the actions of the British Empire, which occupied the former lands of the Ottoman Empire during the war and was the prime mover in developing a new vision for the region. During the war, British Western Asia specialists developed the concept of the 'Middle East'- a region based upon the principle of nationality under the tutelage of the West, particularly the British themselves. Western Asia was viewed by these policy-makers as a developing region, between East and West, the historical basis of which were the ancient nations of the Arabs, Jews and Armenians that had been oppressed by the despotic Ottoman Turks. The project begins by exploring the origins of this view of the region, and places it within the wider context of an intellectual world shaped by racial, nationalist and Orientalist assumptions.

This concept of a nation-based 'Middle East' was championed by senior British policy-makers as they believed it would mobilise support for the war among the peoples of the region and their diasporas, and coincided with the commitment to national self-determination made by the powerful United States and others in the international community. As protectors of the oppressed nations of the Middle East, the British hoped to secure post-war control of strategically important areas in the region. Imperialism was thus to be re-invented for the age of nationality. The second part of the research project explores the global propaganda campaign that was undertaken by the British Empire to advertise its commitment to a new era of nationality and freedom in a post-Ottoman 'Middle East'. Looking at press, film, posters, pamphlets, and books, the research examines how the British Empire spread the idea of a new age of nationality around the world. It shows how this propaganda machine increased the influence of nationalism among Arabs, Jews and Armenians on a massive scale.

The final part of the project analyses the impact and consequences of the idea of a nation-based Middle East among the societies of the region and their diasporas. It shows how the British promotion of national self-determination had the unforeseen effect of mobilising widespread calls for immediate independence, without Western tutelage. When this independence was not forthcoming after the war, as the British and French Empires staked out their claims in the region, there was widespread protest and violence. This popular anti-colonial nationalism combined with a resurgent Turkey and lack of resources in Britain to result in a political system that was a far cry from the wartime slogans of freedom. Instead, the British and French Empires, with the approval of the international community in the new League of Nations, imposed a system that featured autocratic elites, quasi-colonies, and backing for Zionism. This system, in broad terms, remained in place until the beginning of the 21st century, and its remains to be seen how much of this system will survive the after effects of the Arab Spring of 2011.

The principal beneficiaries of this research outside of the academe will be policy-makers, the media and the wider public. In the policy-making community, the work will be of interest to those concerned with the Middle East in the UK, the rest of Europe, the USA and Asia, as well as trans-national bodies such as NATO, the European Union, and the United Nations.

The research will provide this community with an analysis of what lies beneath the current power structures of the region. As the first study of the ideas that shaped the post-Ottoman Middle East as a whole, the research will give a picture of why elites, political systems and borders came into being. It will clarify the extent to which these structures derive from the societies of the region, and the intervention of the West. From this baseline, policy-makers will be able to make a more informed analysis as to the possibilities for the future, with particular regard to the issue of advancing democracy.

The research will also give important insights into the origins of national conflicts that continue to bedevil the region, particularly the question of Israel/Palestine, and the possible roles for the international community. The analysis undertaken so far suggests that the conflict derived from wider currents in the international community at the time, and was driven to a great extent by the actions of the British Empire in that context. This contextualised approach suggests ways in which the emergence and evolution of the conflict were conditioned by bigger forces, and takes the focus away from the agency of the conflicting parties themselves. This picture will provide policy-makers with an alternative view of how international actors have influenced the course of the conflict from its inception, and how they might in the future.

More broadly, this research will give policy-makers an in-depth analysis of the most comprehensive attempt at Western intervention in the Middle East. It will provide new lessons concerning the scope for intervention, the impact that it has socially and politically, and some of the types of outcomes that can occur. In particular, this analysis examines the crucial question of how Western intervention is received, the ways in which a communication strategy can be undermined and even backfire, and the interconnections of this sphere with military and political developments on the ground.

All of these issues will also be of interest to the media and the wider public in the UK and abroad. The months preceding the invasion of Iraq in 2003 saw the biggest public demonstrations in the history of the UK. Ever since, there has been profound concern in the public sphere regarding the wisdom of intervention in the region, and the possibilities for the future. The events of 2011 that began in North Africa have only accentuated public interest. These developments have raised the possibility of a region-wide re-drawing of political systems that has not been seen since the period covered in this research. This project speaks precisely to the questions that now dominate public debate on the Arab world: what could or should be the governing principles of the states of the Middle East, what are the possible consequences for the rest of the world, and what could or should be the role of the international community?