Coming into this unit, I was skeptical and didn’t really know what to expect. My understanding of the region was limited to terrifying news stories about dictators and oppressive regimes. In all honesty, I was scared of it. I’ve taken a lot away from this unit. To start with, I now know what countries make up the Middle East, and where it is. Most importantly though, I’ve learnt about the diversity and history of the region.
In my head, these ideas I had about dictators and regimes didn’t just apply to specific countries, but the region as a whole. They were generalising and probably a bit bigoted. But the diversity of the region, and the differences in beliefs and governance has given me a new perspective. And honestly, the area doesn’t seem as terrifying anymore. That’s not to say there aren’t dictators and regimes that I find threatening, but having an understanding of the region makes it less menacing, and it’s shown me that there’s a lot more similarities between us than there are differences.
I also found the history of the region very enlightening. When my grandparents were younger, they travelled from England, all the way through the Middle East. I’ve seen photos of their travels, and I was always taken aback. I spent most of my life in a post-9/11 world, and it’s difficult for me to remember a time before that. The stories I grew up with were of terrorism and war, and this was all I have ever known, this was my view of the world. To see photographs of my grandparents travelling in their van, around areas now destroyed by terrorist groups, areas no one in their right mind would holiday to today, was very surreal. I knew that there was a different era of the region, but I didn’t know how we’d gotten here, to this point. I’m still no expert, but the history of colonisation, and foreign intervention, as well as regional influences in the area gives me a much better understanding of how the Middle East evolved to be the place it is today.
Of all the countries we studied, I was most interested in Iraq. Mostly, because of US intervention in the region from 2003. It was something I’d heard about again and again, but never really understood. Right from the period of British Mandate, to the current day struggle with Islamic State, Iraq’s instability highlights the effects of colonial and imperial intervention, and the problems of ongoing sectarian conflict.
Now that I have a basic understanding of the history, relationships, beliefs, and interventionism that effects the region, I will continue to be interest in Middle Eastern affairs. With the current crises in Syria and Yemen, but particularly in Syria, and the rise of ISIS, the future of the region is uncertain. Foreign powers seem to use the area as their own personal battleground, and we’re seeing that at the moment with the United States and Russia. Foreign intervention comes more in the form of meddling than supporting. A change to combat the current regimes and terror needs to come from the people of the region, because they are the ones that know what’s best, and its their interests that should be supported.
The Modern Middle East 