Following WWII, African and Asian nations were granted their independence, which brought on an era of political instability, and the Middle East was no exception. In this region, political, ethnic, and religious identity issues created civil wars, regional wars, and fluctuating relationships with the great powers, leading to hostile political relationships and political instability among Middle Eastern countries.
Disagreements on how to govern newly-formed Middle Eastern countries led to significant political division, even within similar groups, in certain cases. Arab countries, for example, struggled to unify because of tensions between the conservative, pro-monarchy forces and revolutionary ones (Goff et al. 386). Meanwhile, Arab countries felt by increasingly threatened by Iran's push to spread radical Islamism, eventually causing the Iran-Iraq war. The war significantly changed political life in both countries, as they allied with superpowers for resources and chose new leaders to conduct the war. …show more content…
Because of ethnic disagreements, there were five Arab-Israeli wars, which all “resulted in major political upheavals in the Arab world” and made it increasingly difficult for Middle Eastern nations to have friendly political relations (Goff et al. 387-388). In addition, the fighting often bled into Lebanon’s borders, increasing tension there. Eventually, the border violence and preexisting tension between Muslims and Christians and the Left and Right forces in the country ignited a long civil war, shattering the country into political pieces (Goff et al.
Disagreements on how to govern newly-formed Middle Eastern countries led to significant political division, even within similar groups, in certain cases. Arab countries, for example, struggled to unify because of tensions between the conservative, pro-monarchy forces and revolutionary ones (Goff et al. 386). Meanwhile, Arab countries felt by increasingly threatened by Iran's push to spread radical Islamism, eventually causing the Iran-Iraq war. The war significantly changed political life in both countries, as they allied with superpowers for resources and chose new leaders to conduct the war. …show more content…
Because of ethnic disagreements, there were five Arab-Israeli wars, which all “resulted in major political upheavals in the Arab world” and made it increasingly difficult for Middle Eastern nations to have friendly political relations (Goff et al. 387-388). In addition, the fighting often bled into Lebanon’s borders, increasing tension there. Eventually, the border violence and preexisting tension between Muslims and Christians and the Left and Right forces in the country ignited a long civil war, shattering the country into political pieces (Goff et al.