A History of the Modern Middle East Cleveland Bunton summary, Sintesi del corso di Storia Mediorientale

Scarica A History of the Modern Middle East Cleveland Bunton summary e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Storia Mediorientale solo su Docsity! “A HISTORY OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST” W. CLEVELAND, M. BUNTON. WESTVIEW PRESS. 6TH EDITION CHAPTER 5 – THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND EGYPT DURING THE ERA OF THE TANZIMAT (P.76) 1839-1876 Tanzimat (“reorganization”) in Ottoman history The inspiration for reforms came from Europeanized ottoman bureaucrats. Important figures of the Tanzimat period were Rashid Pasha and his disciples Ali Pasha and Fuad Pasha. The royal decrees known as Hatt-i-Sharif and Hatt-i-Humayan underlined the equality of all ottoman subjects regardless of religion. Everyone had equal obligations in terms of military duties and equal opportunities for state employment and education. These two decrees were meant to gt the loyalty of the Christians in a moment of great nationalist turmoil. Reforms in the Tanzimat period regarded the military but also education, with the creation of institutions of higher learning for civilians to form a new political and administrative elite. New legal codes: new penal, commercial, and civil codes, as well as new secular courts. Young Ottomans: attempt to reconcile new institutions of the Tanzimat with Ottoman and Islamic political tradition. They disliked bureaucratic absolutism and wanted a more democratic system. They wanted reforms but grounded in Islamic traditions. Their view of democracy was based on the system of consultations between the absolutist ruler and his ministers, not on participatory democracy like the European model. The most influential contribution of the Young Ottomans was the elaboration of the notion of Ottoman patriotism by Namik Kemal. 1876 proclamation of a Ottoman constitution by sultan Abdul Hamid II. The constitution provided for an elected chamber of deputies and an appointed senate, but it restricted the sultan’s powers minimally. Nevertheless, the constitution underlined the strong European influence on the ottoman empire. It stated the equality of all Ottoman subjects. 1878: Abdul Hamid II suspends the Constitution and starts 30 years of autocratic rule. Finances: Tanzimat reformers had launched expensive and ambitious reforms while the state revenues remained constant. The state started to ask for loans to European states. In the following years more and more funds had to be directed towards repaying debts to the Europeans until the Ottoman empire went bankrupt in 1876. In 1881 the Ottoman Public Debt Administration was created to oversee ottoman finances, de facto surrendering ottoman financial independence to the Europeans. Russian ambitions on ottoman lands, common religious and cultural bonds with the Balkan region 1854-56 Crimean War: the Russian tried to gain direct authority over the Orthodox Christian subjects of the ottoman empire by posing as the supervisor of orthodox Christians. The ottomans refused to approve that position so Russia deployed troops, causing the reaction of France and UK in aid of the ottomans. 1877 Russia declares war on the ottoman empire taking advantage of the riots in Bosnia and Bulgaria. Russia, victorious, impose the Treaty of Adrianople on the Ottomans. A clash with the UK is prevented by Bismarck with the Congress of Berlin 1878 Congress of Berlin: European states divided among themselves pieces of the Ottoman empire in order to keep a balance (principle of the balance of power in action). EGYPT Egypt was integrated into the international economic order and became a virtual plantation economy, exporting raw materials (especially cotton) and importing manufactured goods from Europe. Consequently, the first railroads, steamships lines were built and the project to build the Suez Canal was started, projects granted to Europeans that would later drive Egypt into bankruptcy Muhammad Ali Abbas (1848-1854) Sa’id (1854-1863) Ismail the Magnificent (1863-1879): - Europeanization of Egypt - 1869 completion of the Suez Canal - Completion of the conquest of Sudan - During the American Civil War, the UK turned exclusively to Egypt for cotton, causing a major economic boom in cotton exports. - He spent too much money on personal luxuries and contributed to Egypt bankruptcy in 1876. In that same year the Caisse de la Dette Publique was founded led by European powers to supervise Egyptian’s public debt - Since Ismail didn’t accept well European interventions in Egypt’s economy, European powers pressured the ottoman sultan to depose him and so he was replaced by his son Tawfiq in 1879 Tawfiq (1879-1892) - Urabi Revolt: movement led by the Egyptian official of peasant origins Ahmad Urabi that advocated for the end of foreigner control on Egypt’s finances and for constitutional limits to the khedive authority. The movement was supported by the army, the peasantry and by groups of reformist notables. The Urabi movement was not favoured by France and Britain, who feared for the control of the Suez Canal and of Egyptian debt after an anti-foreigners revolt in Alexandria in 1882 the British bombarded the city the British defeated Urabis’ army and invaded Egypt in an occupation that would last until 1956. Abbas II (1892-1914) - Egyptian nationalist, supported anti-British journals and was deposed by the British in favour of his uncle Husayn Kamil CHAPTER 6 – EGYPT AND IRAN IN THE LATE XIXTH CENTURY European expansion in Middle East: - UK: annexation of Aden (1839), treaties with Bahrain (1880), Muscat (1891), Kuwait (1899) (pledge not to deal with any foreign state if not through Britain), occupation of Egypt (1882) - France: North African empire with the conquest of Algiers (1830), occupation of Tunisia (1881), incorporation of Morocco (1912) - Italy: invasion of Tripoli (1911) British occupation of Egypt Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (1839-1897): he influenced Islam of the time by calling for pan-islamism and for a return to the origins of Islam, which had fallen into a state of decadence in his opinion. The concepts of unity of the ummah and of action were central to al-Afghani. He was strongly against muslim leaders giving concessions to foreign powers and letting them invade their territories. His famous disciple was Muhammad Abduh, that would later give birth to the Salafiyyah movement. Muhammad Abduh focused, among all things, on the idea that Islam was compatible with modernity and reason. CHAPTER 8 – THE ERA OF THE YOUNG TURKS AND THE IRANIAN CONSTITUTIONALISTS (P. 124) Triple alliance: Germany, Austria, Italy Triple Entente: France, Russia, Britain - They got together often by mutually recognizing their domains in the Middle East: France recognized the British occupation of Egypt and Britain in exchange recognized the French one in Morocco; Russia and Britain reached an accord that divided Iran in two spheres of influence (and causing fear in the ottomans) THE REVOLT OF 1908 AND THE YOUNG TURKS IN POWER (1908-1918) In 1908, after a protest led by some military officials, Abdul Hamid II decided to restore the constitution, gaining temporary popularity. In spring 1909 however a counterrevolution broke out against the new government and the new European-style institutions. The army reacted by putting down the counterrevolution and by deposing the sultan, accused of fomenting the counterrevolution. Abdul Hamid II was replaced by his brother, Mehmet V. This was the period of the Young Turks. The first period of power of the Young Turks (1909-1913) was dominated by the CUP (Committee of Union and Progress), a group of military students of European-style academies. Censorship got lifted and it was a time of great freedom of expression before the CUP turned more autocratic. The education system and the army were improved and expanded. Then they proceed to attack state bureaucracy, considered ineffective, a move that caused turmoil. In that period there were different view on the Ottoman Empire, its core elements, and the path to save it - Some saw it as Ottoman, ethnically diverse and needing equal rights and opportunities for all its different citizens - Some saw it as an essentially Islamic state that needed to rediscover its Islamic roots - Some saw it as a Turkish state with some ethnic minorities attached, since the ruling elites and military were all essentially Turkish The CUP leaders were devoted to ottomanism and believed that the empire needed constitutional rules to limit the powers of the monarch and to safeguards all people’s rights, non-muslims included. But that posed questions on how to integrate this egalitarian view with the actual distinction between the Islamic ruling class and cultural past and the non-muslims subjects. - 1908 Bulgaria became independent, Austria annexed Bosnia, Crete united with Greece - 1911 Italy invaded Tripoli - 1912 Treaty with Italy (loss of Tripoli and the Dodecanes Islands); First Balkan War (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro allied against the Ottoman Empire) - 1913 Second Balkan Wars (born from quarrels over the division of territories, the ottomans re-gained Thrace) The events happening between 1909-1913 posed questions on ottomanism since the empire lost a great number of territories and since it became clear that subject minorities preferred national independence than staying in the Ottoman empire. The CUP continued pursuing ottomanism but a new movement focusing on ottoman’s Turkish identity was bound to come. This movement was divided into 2 currents: - Pan-Turkism, which was born from Muslim Turkish exiles in Russia, stressing the bond between all Turkish-speaking people (from Anatolia to China) - Turkism, more focused on the Ottoman situation, which stressed a special pre-islamic, pre-ottoman cultural heritage that distinguished the Turks from other inhabitants of the empire. In the Arab provinces the CUP replaced most of the ruling administration loyal to Abdul Hamid II and replace them with official loyal to them. This move upset the socio-political stability of the Arab provinces and made them perceive the CUP as a Turkifying government. A sort of proto-nationalist movement, Arabism, rose in the provinces as a response to the Turkifying centralization operated by the CUP and as a form of cultural nationalism. They were willing to stay in the Ottoman empire but in a de-centralized way that guaranteed them more freedom and autonomy. Events like the Arab Paris Congress of 1913 were the starting point of Arab nationalism, but they weren’t separatist, they wanted to remain the Ottoman empire. THE PERIOD OF THE IRANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION (1905-1911) Muzzafir al-Din Shah (1896-1906):in order to generate income, he reintroduced the practice of granting concessions to foreigners. - 1901 D’Arcy Concession: the shah granted to the British William D’Arcy the concession to extract oil in almost all of Iran in exchange for 16% of the annual profits of the company. Soon Britain controlled the majority of Iranian oil reserves. - The shah also took out loans with Britain, France and Russia and spent the money on the interests of previous loans and on luxuries instead of focusing on economic development - The import of low-cost manufactured goods from Europe crashed the local textile industries and the bazaaris. All these reasons brought Iranians to despise the shah and his concessions to foreign Christian powers. Muzzaafir al-Din replicated the conditions that had sparked the tobacco revolt in 1891. Bazaaris, ulama and some radical reformers allied against the shah in a constitutional revolution (December 1905-august 1906). The shah capitulated in 1906 and created a constituent assembly (Majlis). Two provisions - Fundamental Law: it gave the elected assembly final authority over loans, concessions, treaties and budgets - Supplementary Fundamental Laws: the assembly was granted additional powers over the appointment and dismissal of ministers and citizens’ rights were stated - Some constitutional clauses stated that Twelfth Shiism was the official state religion, so the ulama granted themselves a great power in the new constitution Muhhamad Ali Shah (1907-1909) wanted to restore the Qajar power and was helped by popular disaffection with the new Majlis system that saw a deteriorating economy and a rise in prices. He was also helped by external elements such as the entente of 1907 between Britain and Russia to divide Iran in two spheres of influence (British in the south-east and Russian in the north, with neutral areas in the centre). Muhammad Ali could thus denounce the Majlis government as ineffective in preserving Iranian sovereignty and in economic and religious matters, also thanks to some ulama loyal to him. A counterrevolution thus sparked in June 1908: the shah sent the Cosack Brigade to close the Majlis and arrest leading constitutionalist to restore his authority. Iran fell into civil war and economic crisis. However, the army of the shah was weak and Muhammad Ali was deposed in 1909 while the constitution was restored. The second Majlis convened in August 1909 but in the next years was strongly divided in many important matters between baazaris and ulama on one hand and reformists on the other. The central government was paralyzed and ineffective and rural tribe seized the moment to restore their autonomy and refuse to pay taxes. To preserve their position in this chaotic situation Britain decided to invade and occupy Iran in October 1911 and Russia followed them by occupying northern Iran in November. CHAPTER 9 – WORLD WAR 1 AND THE END OF THE OTTOMAN ORDER (P 139) - The ottoman empire was unsure on entering or not the war, but in the end the decision of entering the war alongside the central empires was taken by a minority group in the CUP. Although the ottoman empire would end up defeated and dismembered, it was able to endure 4 years of warfare and thus testified great tenacity. After the ottoman military defeats in the Balkan wars, military reforms were implemented following German models. This is one of the reasons why the Ottoman army was stronger than expected during WW1 - During WW1 Ottomans had to break their economic dependency on foreigners: in 1914 the CUP renounced to Capitulations, introduced protectionist tariffs and more taxes for foreign companies. They also granted more contracts to muslim companies rather than to foreign ones, creating favourable conditions for muslim businesses. WW1 also accelerated some social changes such as the integration of women in civil society (consequently secularizing reforms in areas like family law were introduced, replacing sharia). - Armenian genocide: from 1915 the CUP implemented a systemic policy of forced evacuation of Armenians from Eastern and Southern Anatolia. Armenians were accused of conspiring with the enemy (Russia in particular), as well as seeking independence from the ottoman central government. - Gallipoli campaign (from February 1915): the objective was to force open the Dardanelles and capture Istanbul, cutting the ottomans off from Germany and enabling entente’s supplies to arrive to Russia through the Black Sea. The Ottomans fought back and forced the French and British troops to evacuate in 1916. The battle of the Dardanelles gave rise to the Ottoman colonel Mustafa Kemal, the future Ataturk. - The Mesopotamian front: two British objectives: protect the road to India and to protect Iranian oil fields. In late 1914 an army from British India occupied the port city of Basra and advanced toward Baghdad. The ottomans fought back and the British were forced to surrender in 1916. The Mesopotamian front though was too important for the British so in March 1917 they attacked again bringing southern Iraq under British control. - Eastern-Anatolian front: fight between Russians and Ottomans - Syrian-Egyptian front: relevant because of the Suez Canal. The Ottomans tried to surprise attack the British troops in Egypt through the Sinai Peninsula but they didn’t succeed. Consequently, Britain started to build up lots of troops in Egypt until they decided to attack the Ottomans in 1917, also helped by the irregular guerrilla of the Arab Revolt. The conflict lasted until 1918, when on October 31 the Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros that stated their unconditional surrender, the end of the war in the Middle East and the end of the Ottoman empire. - During WW1 the ottoman government utilised Islamic symbols and rhetoric to mobilise the population against the entente powers (proclamation of jihad against the entente) The CUP administration in the Arab provinces during WW1 was especially suspicious, because the central government feared Arabism and didn’t have complete trust in the Arab population. For this reason, REFORMS OF THE ATATURK ERA - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) - Westernization - Capital of the state moved from Istanbul to Ankara - New constitution reaffirming the principles of popular sovereignty and republicanism: right to vote to all males over 18 - He continued a process of reforms that had started in the XIXth century, from Mahumd II to the Tanzimat to the Young Turks. - KEMALISM: reformism, republicanism, secularism, nationalism, populism and etatism - Secularism: all Islamic judicial codes were replaced by secular ones on the models of European ones, most importantly civil code (and family law) abandoned sharia in favour of European-style codes. Ulama lost relevance in society, the sufi orders shrunk. - Nationalism: promoting pride in Turkishness and creating symbols of cultural identity for the new state - 1925 Kurds revolted but their rebellion was crashed by the Turkish army. - Etatism: developed in the 1930s during the international economic crisis, the idea was to build national industry in order to be less reliant on import and to do so, since private capitals weren’t sufficient, the state invested lots of money. Agricultural development instead was neglected. Etatism wasn’t really successful. - Turkish international relations were excellent during the Ataturk era, with no aggressive expansionist intentions. IRAN UNDER REZA SHAH Iran was occupied by Russia and Britain during WW1 so the government of the Qajar had already lost his legitimacy. Between 1918 an 1921, after Russia withdrawal in 1917, Britain grew its presence in Iran to preserve its oil interests, causing great popular discomfort. In February 1921 an officer of the Cossack Brigade, Reza Khan, promoted a coup d’état to appoint Sayyd Zia Tabatabai as prime minister, then proceded to take more and more power in his own hands in the next years. Reza Khan diverted great funds to improve the army and managed to crash the revolts of the autonomous tribes in the peripheries. 1926 beginning of the Pahlavi dynasty, when Reza Khan forced the Majlis to vote to give the monarchy to his family. 1926-1941 reign of Reza shah - Influenced by Kemalist reforms in Turkey (but more influenced by Muhammad Ali reforms of XIXth century Egypt) - He kept the constitution and the Majlis but in reality, these institutions had no powers. Reza shah’s powers lied in the control of the army and the bureaucratic apparatus. - Westernization and centralization (establishing state authority on the tribal peripheries through the army) - Secularization, especially in the legal and judicial spheres. He tried to weaken the ulama’s powers. - The name of the country was changed from Persia to Iran to remind of its Aryan origins - National industrialization projects were favoured by the international economic crisis. Reza Shah also started collecting taxes more efficiently, raised tariffs on import products and taxed certain goods like tea and tobacco. He invested in the construction of transportation lines and he managed to complete some projects without asking for foreign loans. - While the situation in the urban centres improved, life in rural areas got worse because Reza shah favoured landowners over peasants - Reza shah managed to improve Iran finances but didn’t manage to control the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, except for a slight increase in revenue obtained in 1933 - Diplomatic and commercial ties with Germany, also to counterbalance British influence in the region With the onset of WW2 Iran was again invaded by URSS and Britain in 1941 to preserve their oil and resources transportations. Reza shah abdicated in favour of his son, Muhammad Reza, to try and preserve the Pahlavi dynasty Turkey remained neutral during all WW2 until February 1945, when Turkey declared war on Germany just in time for the end of the war and the ONU membership. Iran’s neutrality instead was not respected. CHAPTER 11 – THE ARAB STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE Britain’s empire by treaty: Egypt and Iraq were granted a limited form of independence in which they could conduct domestic affairs as they wanted but they had to host British troops on their territories and their foreign policy was controlled by Britain. In this way Britain fulfilled his interests in the region without having to endure excessive expenses, but the limited sovereignty frustrated the Arabs. EGYPT Egypt was not a battle ground during WW1, but it suffered many hardships since the Gallipoli and Syrian campaigned started from them and since material and human resources were taken by the Allies to sustain the war effort. In 1914 the British established a protectorate over Egypt, signing the end of centuries of Ottoman rule over the country. Egyptians went from trying to get as much autonomy as they could under the Ottomans to being subjected to a foreign protectorate. Moreover, they were not pleased of the economic hardships of a war they didn’t want, against other muslim countries. There were anti-british and pro-independence sentiments, especially spurred by Wilson’s discourses on self-determination, but Egypt was too strategic for Britain to abandon it. November 1918 Formation of the Wafd: 7 prominent Egyptians asked to represent Egypt at the Paris Peace Conference, they were denied their request and so they turned to the Egyptian people to harness support for independence. Revolution of 1919: popular upheaval started with the exile of the Wafd leader, Zaghlul, and fomented by British repression. The British repressed the revolts with the army, but then decided to allow the Wafd to represent Egypt in Paris. 1922 Britain declared Egypt independent with the end of the protectorate, but Britain remained responsible for imperial communication in Egypt, for Egyptian foreign defence, for the protection of minorities and foreign interests in the country and for Sudan. Capitulations were still present and Egyptians still didn’t control their foreign policy. Britain imposed his vision of independence over the one of the Wafd. EGYPT LIBERAL EXPERIMENT 1924-1936 - 1923 proclamation of a constitution - 1924 first elections for the parliament – 90% of seats to the Wafd party – Zaghlul prime minister The liberal experiment didn’t work well for various reasons - the constitution gave enormous powers to the king (King Fuad (1917-19936)) - the British continued to interfere in Egyptian politics - neither the Wafd nor any other party adopted principles of respect of the opposition and political rivals, essential for a parliamentary government - 4 reserved points and the consequent continuous struggle for power among the Wafd, the King and the British 1936 Independence treaty with Britain: Britain accepted to renegotiate the 1922 treaty, recognized Egypt’s independence, but reaffirmed its right to defend it against foreign aggression, especially the area of the Suez Canal 1937 Montreux convention: abolition of the capitulations 1937 admission to the League of Nations Kings - King Fuad (1917-19936)) - King Faruq (1936-) Prime ministers: - Zaghlul (1924-1927) - Mustafa al-Nahhas (1927-) Attack on tradition: The imposition of European values and ideas on Egyptian society further alienated the population from supporting the parliamentary government and the Wafd, which also became increasingly corrupted especially after Zaghlul’s death (1927). There was a sort of attack on tradition: focus on pre-islamic Egyptian culture rather than on its Islamic heritage, feminism, education. As a consequence, many Islamic movements rose in opposition to this forced secularization 1928 Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Ismailiyah by Hasan al-Banna. The main idea was that Egypt’s regeneration would need the restoration of Islamic values and principles. Sharia had to be restored but in a way that was compatible with modernity. The muslim brotherhood opened Islamic schools and gave material assistance to people in need (medical clinics, soup kitchens), focusing on social justice and thus advancing their popular support. WW2 During WW2 Egypt was the pivot of the British defence strategy in the Mediterranean. Wartime conditions brought to Egypt inflation and shortages of food, as well as restrictions to trade with foreign powers. This made Egypt develop its industries: at the end of the war Egypt was self-sufficient for many goods (tobacco, sugar, shoes, cement, cotton, glass), the labour force had grown and trade unions had gained more influence. The war discredited all Egyptian institutions (king, parliament, Wafd), which proved to be unstable, inefficient, and compromised with the British. February forth incident (1942): king Faruq wanted his counsellor, Mahir (pro-Axis), to take the vacant premiership, but the British, in a moment of tension in which Axis troops were close to Alexandria, didn’t want a pro-axis pm and preferred a Wafdist government led by Mustafa al-Nahhas. The British ambassador 1925-27 Great revolt in Syria: the revolt originated in the Druze area but soon spread nationwide and raged the country for almost 2 years before the French were able to crash it. After the great revolt, prominent Syrian notables formed the National Bloc, a political organization formed by individuals representing the interests of landowning urban notables and administrative officials. Almost all of them came from administrative positions in the Ottoman era. Their political style was “honourable cooperation” because they framed themselves as necessary intermediaries between Syrian people and French authorities. They mixed anti-French sentiments with the necessity to cooperate with France. LEBANON 1920 Creation of Greater Lebanon, mainly with the objective of preserving the Christian Maronite community from being absorbed into a Sunni Muslim state (Syria). Even in the new state of Lebanon however Maronites were around the 30% of the population, so they needed French backings to retain political power. 1926 a constitution was approved and created a Lebanese republic 1936 Franco-Lebanese Treaty: an annex guaranteed the “fair representation of all the country’s sects in the government and high administration” 1937 the Lebanese chamber of deputies elected Emile Eddé (Maronite) as president and he selected Khayr al-Din (muslim) as prime minister. The tradition of having a maronite president and a sunni muslim prime minister thus began. This move also integrated muslims into the new state, making them understand that they could achieve many benefits by cooperating with the system and not against it. During WW2 France fell to the nazis and the Vichy regime was established, thus Syria and Lebanon went under the axis sphere and became the theatre of a diplomatic struggle between the Vichy regime and Britain together with the Free French movement. Britain and the Free French Movement invaded and occupied Syria and Lebanon in 1941 to prevent Germany to install military bases there. Syria and Lebanon, beside enduring terrible economic hardships, hoped in their independence with the arrival of the British but they were again deluded. The combination of popular unrest and british pressure however made the French restore the countries’ constitutions. 1943 National Pact in Lebanon: Christian and muslim mutual acceptance and recognition, statement of the future sectarian representation in the chamber of deputies. The formula was based on the 1932 census and it was never changed since, despite huge demographic changes. According to the census Christians outnumbered muslims (6:5) and political power was granted accordingly. Confessional politics thus became a fundamental part of the new Lebanese state. 1941 Syria and Lebanon formally recognized as independent, though they still had to fight for their true autonomy. ARABIA Britain crafted a series of treaties with the sheiks of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman and took the city of Aden under his direct control in order to protect its imperial communications. Britain didn’t really care about what was happening in the interior parts of Arabia as long as the events didn’t threaten its interests in the area. Britain’s key ally in Arabia was Sharif Husayn, king of the Hijaz, who however started soon to be unpopular because of his fallacies as a king and because of his power ambitions, as well as for his connections with the Europeans. For this reason, when the Saudi and Wahhabi started conquering Arabia the British didn’t give him a lot of assistance, they just helped him escape into exile once he was defeated. 1902 Ibn Saud seize the city of Riyadh --- in a 20 years long campaign of conquests the Saudi finally controlled almost all of the Arabian Peninsula Ibn Saud was a strong leader and statesman who combined a position of victorious tribal leader with the religious status of head of the Wahhabi order. He managed to form a community of people under Wahhabism, providing them with both economic and agricultural services as well as religious services. 1924 Ibn Saud and his soldiers conquer Mecca and Medina driving Sharif Husain into exile 1927 Treaty of Jyddah between Ibn Saud and the British: Britain recognized Ibn Saud as king of the Hijaz and sultan of Najd while he recognized Britain’s special interests in the coast and its dominions. 1932 the state name becomes Saudi Arabia At the beginning of the kingdom, in the interwar era, Saudi Arabia was an impoverished land able to get revenue mostly from pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina, it wasn’t the wealthy oil country we know now. Oil was not discovered until 1938 Regionalism Pan-arabism Islamic solidarity CHAPTER 13 – THE PALESTINE MANDATE AND THE BIRTH OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL (P.226) Great Britain promised a small territory that an arab majority had inhabited for centuries as a national home to another people (the Jewish community), the majority of whom lived in Eastern Europe. Zionism was always present in the Jewish creed, it was based on the idea that the jewish community one day would manage to return to the Holy Land and establish there their kingdom, but for a very long time it wasn’t organized. In 19th century Western Europe, with liberal nationalism, Jews started to be more emancipated and to assimilate with non-jews. Some thought that assimilation was good to end anti-semitism, others regretted the loss of a particular sense of Jewishness and were against assimilation. Meanwhile in Eastern Europe Jews were still cruelly persecuted. Modern political Zionism originated in Russia, were jewish groups, following the pogroms of 1880s, organized to settle in Palestine. The first agricultural settlements in 1890s Palestine were not very successful. Theodor Herzl “The Jewish State” (1896) provided the ideological bases for Zionism, even if Herzl didn’t create Zionism. 1897 First Zionist congress in Basel: the objective of the Zionist movement was to secure a legally recognized home in Palestine for the jewish people; establishment of the World Zionist Organization. During WW1 british started to feel like jewish communities in the US and Russia had the ability to influence their state attitude towards the war. British thought, for example, that a statement showing goodwill towards Zionists would help maintaining revolutionary Russia in the war, because many of the influential members of the revolutionary movements were Jews. Britain also saw that their support for jewish settlements in Palestine would meet their colonial interests, since their support to the Zionist cause would justify their presence in the area. Balfour Declaration (November 2, 1917): the british foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote to Lord Rothschild, prominent figure in british Zionism, to inform him of a declaration of sympathy for the Zionist aspirations that the british government had just signed. Palestine was not a distinctive entity during the ottoman rule, it was part of southern Syria. Britain captured Jerusalem in 1917 and then occupied Palestine from 1917 to 1920. In that period Britain tried to facilitate discussions between Zionists and Arabs organizing meeting between Weizmann and Faysal of Syria. Weizmann-Faysal Agreement (January 1919): Weizmann agreed to cooperate with Arabs for the economic development of Palestine, Faysal agreed on recognizing the Balfour Declaration and allowing jewish immigration provided that the rights of the Palestinian Arabs were protected and Arab demands for an independent greater Syria were met. (Faysal didn’t agree on the establishment of a jewish state in Palestine!). During the San Remo Conference (1920) Britain received the mandate for Palestine. In 1923 the League of Nations sanctioned the british mandate in Palestine, also formally including in it the Balfour Declaration and stating Hebrew as one of the official languages of Palestine. Soon it became clear that the Zionists interpreted the term “national home” as “Jewish state in Palestine” and expected the british to cooperate with them to achieve this goal. But the british didn’t actually commit to that. White Paper (1922): Britain stated that “jewish national home” didn’t mean the imposition of jewish nationality upon the entire Palestine population, to comfort the Arabs. At the same time they stated that Jews had a right to be in Palestine. Ambiguities were still there Sir Herbert Samuel (jewish and Zionist) was appointed as civilian high commissioner in 1920. He proposed some constitutional arrangement that would integrate both arabs and Jews in the government, but they were all met with refusal by the Arabs since they didn’t annul the Balfour Declaration as they wanted. Palestinian Arabs at the time were led by local urban notables that adopted a policy of moderate opposition to and cautious opposition with the British. The first organized Palestinian Arab response to the post-war settlement came from local muslim-christian associations in 1918-19, that met in the first Palestinian Arab Congress in 1919. In 1920 a first Arab executive was created, led by Misa Kazim al-Husayni, but the british refused to acknowledge it, undermining its legitimacy. The arab executive stopped existing with the death of Husayini in 1934. Palestinian arab politics were also weakened by rivalries between two leading families of Jerusalem, the Nashashibis and the al-Husaynis. The jewish community was better organized, financed and connected than the Arab one. They had the Palestine Zionist executive, created in 1921, that then became the Jewish Agency in 1929. Kibbutz: collective agricultural settlements in which all property belonged to the community and all responsibilities were shared equally by the members. They became a symbol of the cooperative communal order the first jewish settlers wanted to build in Palestine. They had a socialist economic orientation. Histadrut: Federation of Jewish Labour. Founded in 1920 to promote jewish trade unionism, it engaged in many entrepreneurial activities and it greatly influenced the jewish political decisions. Haganah: jewish defense force formed in 1920 after some Arab revolts, it was a centralized military armed that served in case of arab attacks on the jewish community. Mapai Party: formed in 1930 by two labour groups, it stated that the objectives of labour and Zionism were identical, it represented the socialist egalitarian ideal of the first Zionist period. One of its most prominent members was David Ben Gurion. From a monopartite system (RPP) to a multiparty system (creation of the Democratic Party in 1946) 1950 elections: resounding victory of the Democratic party over the republicans -> smooth transition of power after27 years of republican rule The Democrats in power 1950-1960 Celal Bayar president, Adnan Menderes pm - More professionals and businesspeople as politicians and less military officials - Reversal of the Kemalist secularizing reforms, more to fit the popular demands than to oppose the principle of secularization per se - Tentatives of reducing the state role in economy, though huge investments in agricultural improvements - Democrats were sensitive to criticism and started to censor and imprison lots of journalists. These actions however caused a surge in violence since it was the only way left to protest the government Coup d’état of 27th May 1960 Turkish armed forces led by general Cemal Gursel seized control and overthrew the democrats government just to give the reins of government again to civilian politicians in 1961. The military didn’t want to hold power but just to send away the democrats, who were challenging Kemalist principles. The military kept seeing themselves as the guardians of the secular, reformist, and democratic goals of Ataturk. Revised constitution approved in July 1961 by the National Unity Council: from a single-house national assembly to a bicameral system; clauses protecting civilians’ rights and the principle of secularism The Second Republic 1961-1983 Turkey after WW2 faced a huge urbanization that brought many people from rural areas to the cities and many others to migrate to Europe in search of better living conditions. In the 1960s and 1970s in Turkey there was a proliferation of political parties because many social groups wanted to see their particular interests represented in the national assembly. Turkey’s relations with other Arab states were correct but somewhat uneasy because of Turkish alliance with the US and because of its recognition of Israel in 1949. THE CYPRUS QUESTION From the ottoman period Turks had settled in the island of Cyprus, which later became a british colony. In the 1950s Greek Cypriotes launched a movement for the independence of the island and for its union with mainland Greece. Turkey was concerned for the situation and after many negotiations between Turkey, Britain and Greece Cyprus became independent in 1960, though Britain, Turkey, and Greece still stationed troops on the island to safeguard the new constitutional order. The situation generated 2 crises in 1964 and in 1974 that strained US-Turkey relations. In 1964 Turkey prepared to military intervene in Cyprus following the Greek Cypriotes efforts to gain more power, but the US intimated them to stop the plan or else they would reconsider their presence in the NATO. The US were scared that a possible conflict could involve the USSR. Turkey cancelled its plan but anti- American sentiments grew in the country. A similar situation happened again in 1974, but this time Turkey didn’t wait for US approval and decided to invade Cyprus from the north occupying a portion of the island well beyond the Turkish-inhabited part. The US in response suspended all military aid and weapons to Turkey, so Turkey shut down some of US military bases in the country. In 1979 the embargo was lifted and US-Turkey relations improved, but after these incidents Turkey decided to cultivate diplomatic relations with other countries, including the USSR. IRAN Muhammad Reza Shah (1941-) Even though Iran was never a protectorate or a mandate, its sovereignty was strictly limited by foreign powers: Russia and Britain invaded and occupied it both during WW1 and WW2 and, economically, Iran most important resources (especially oil) were exploited by Britain through unfair concessions. Iranian people started resenting both foreigners and domestic rulers who enabled foreign domination and these sentiments found a spokesperson in Muhammad Mosaddeq. In 1949 many political parties and interest groups joined together to form the National Front under Mosaddeq leadership. One of the main matters for the National Front was the revision of the concession previously granted by Reza Shah to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (british company whose main investor was the british government itself). MUHAMMAD MOSSADEQ GOVERNMENT (1951-53) 1951 the Majlis nationalised the oil industry and nominated Mosaddeq as prime minister. Westerners responded with a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil as well as British economic sanctions that brought Iran into a huge financial crisis. Mosaddeq also wanted to restore the parliamentary institutions and thus entered in a power struggle with the shah and its patron, the United States. In 1952, thanks to the emergency powers he was granted by the Majlis, Mosaddeq managed to gain legal control of the army, reduced its size and implemented land reforms. Mosaddeq’s reforms were approved by most of the population but Iranian state didn’t have enough revenue to implement them, so the country fell into a huge economic crisis and prices and unemployment rose. In 1953 the National Front began to disintegrate, opening up the possibility of a rise to power of the Tudeh. The US feared that a Tudeh government would align with the USSR, so together with Britain they gave assistance to Iranian officers to plot a coup and restate the rule of the shah. The coup of 1953 signed the return to royal dictatorship. The oil dispute was settled with an arrangement that gave Iran 50% of the annual revenues and Iranian oil re-took his place in the international market. The shah focused on consolidating its power, on preventing dangerous circumstances that could overthrow him and to improve Iranian relations with western powers. The shah also persecuted oppositions leaders of the National Front and of the Tudeh and with the help of the US and Israel he set up a pervasive internal security organization to control its opponents. Elections in the two-party system were strictly controlled by the shah. The only slight exception to this repressive system happened between 1960 and 1963, when economic hardships generated protests, some of which were led by a previously unknown figure, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that accused the shah and the US of corruption and treason of the Iranian people. Khomeini arguments generated widespread protests that were crashed by the shah, who forced him into exile. The episode though was an example of the huge power of mass mobilization that the religious establishment still held. During Muhammad Reza Shah reign Iran experienced major economic and social changes, but the royal authoritarian system was not placed under discussion. White Revolution (1963): plan of reforms without bloodshed. The most important points were land reform and the establishment of literacy corps to reduce rural illiteracy. The land reform forced landowners to sell the excess of lands to the state that would later redistribute them to peasants. The shah succeeded in its purpose of limiting the landowners’ power and of imposing central power in the rural areas. Education and healthcare were also improved thanks to oil revenues, as well as transportation and communication lines. From the 1960s the huge state repression brought opposition movement to resort to violence. Urban guerrilla groups rose and represented Iranian resistance to the authoritarian power of the shah. In 1975 state repression heightened even more when the two-party system was abandoned in favour of a single organization, the National Resurgence Party. CHAPTER 15 – THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE AGE OF NASSER – THE EGYPTIAN BASE (P.286) At the end of WW2 tensions between Egypt and Britain remained high as Britain refused to grant unconditional independence to Egypt (especially because of the Suez Canal). This also resulted in popular resentment towards the Egyptian government and King Faruq. The situation of great wealth inequalities, especially in rural areas between rich landowners and poor landless peasants contributed to create great frustration. The ruling politicians derived their wealth and status from landowning, so they were not interested in changing the status quo. All these elements favoured the rise of opposition movements and the support of the Muslim Brotherhood, which called for national independence, social reforms, and the preservation of Islamic values. 1950 elections won yet again by the Wafd 1951 the government proclaimed the abrogation of the 1936 treaty with Britain. Britain at the time was focused on Iran to deal with the Mosaddeq crisis but didn’t approve of the abrogation. Egyptian masses though started rioting against the British, especially during the Black Saturday (January 26, 1952) THE FREE OFFICERS AND THE COUP D’ETAT OF 1952 July 23 1952 Coup d’état (or revolution): planned and executed by a group of junior military officers, who called themselves the free officers, led by Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser. Once they took control, they formed the Revolutionary Command Council. Previously they had drafted a six point program that included the destruction of british imperialism and removal of its Egyptian collaborators, the elimination of feudalism, the end of the political control of state by foreign capital, the establishment of social justice, the creation of a strong national army and of a healthy democratic life. 1953 the monarchy was abolished and King Faruq was sent into exile The 1923 constitution was abolished, as well as all political parties and the parliament. The regime declared a 3 year transitional period during which the RCC would act as the supreme executive. Naguib became president and prime minister while Nasser remained behind the scenes. The only party allowed was the Liberation Rally, which combined all the Free Officers. The main rival of the RCC was the Muslim Brotherhood, which was very popular. After a short period of collaboration, the RCC outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood with the excuse that one of its members tried to kill Nasser. The RCC also opposed leftist and communist parties. In the RCC there was a power struggle between Naguib and Nasser. Naguib became more than the figurehead he was supposed to be, gaining a strong popular consent, but his plans on the future of the revolution started to interfere with those of Nasser. In the end in 1954 Nasser managed to remove Naguib from his office and place him under house arrest with the accuse of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Agrarian Reform (1952): limit to the amount of agricultural land a single individual could own. The surplus was taken by the state and redistributed. Landowners were compensated with Egyptian bond. The reform’s objective was to improve peasants’ conditions of life but also to dimmish the socio-political influence of landowners. Nasser continued its attempts to form a Pan-Arab union under his control; politicians in Syria and Iraq admired Nasser but they didn’t want to be dominated by him; Lebanon and Jordan were pro-western so they refused the call to pan-arab unity. SYRIA After WW2, untested parliamentary institutions and politicians. Syria experienced a series of military coups March 1949: a coup led by Colonel Husni Za’im overthrew the previous government of notables. 1949-1954: two coups d’état later Colonel Adib Shishakli came to power establishing a centralized military dictatorship that brought order for a small period of time (at the cost of repression). He refused to participate in western sponsored alliances stating a neutralist foreign policy. He was overthrew in 1954 by a military coup. 1954-58 Syria returned to civilian parliamentary government, but it was so fragmented that it barely worked. Many reasons for Syria’s political instability: - The divide and rule heritage of the colonial French period had brought Syrians to identify with their religious, ethnic or local communities at the expense of their Syrian identity. - Factionalization and politicization of officer corps: the military was not united in the support of a single leader and factions always plotted against or in favour of specific officers - Emergence of political parties: notables were replaced by broadly based parties centred on specific programs and ideologies (communist party, Baath party) Baath party: committed to achieve pan-arab unity, mix of nationalism and socialism, centred on Islam, focus on social justice, freedom, democracy, end of class exploitation. Baath attracted followers also outside Syria and was inspiring for Nasser too. - Syria was caught in the struggle for the domination of the Eastern Arab world between Egypt and Iraq. Iraq was pro-western and conservative whereas Egypt was reformist and independent from foreign powers. Both Egypt and Iraq tried to bring Syria under their influence. IRAQ Hashemite monarchy until 1958 King Faysal II, but mostly maneuvered by Prince Abd al-Ilah, his former regent Nuri al Said directed Iraqi foreign policy with a pro-western and pro-british orientation 1955 Iraq signed the Baghdad Pact Iraq fragmented social composition didn’t help political stability. The majority of the population was Shia and was underrepresented. They opposed pan-arabism because they knew that in a pan-arab federation they would count even less among all the sunnis. Kurds opposed pan-arabism for similar reasons. In addition to that there were the disparities between rural and urban inhabitants and between poor landless peasants and rich landowners. The post WW2 government didn’t address social matters such as land reform in fear of alienating the landowners’ support since the government was already on such fragile basis. July 1958 the Hashemite monarchy ended because of a bloody coup d’état that brought into command Abd al-Karim Qasim (1958-1963), who ruled his personal military dictatorship until 1963, when he was overthrew by another coup and substituted by Abd al-Rahman (1963-68). Qasim government (1958-1963) - Emergence of large scale parties such as the Communist party and the Baath party (similar to the Syrian one) - Agrarian reform inspired by the Egyptian 1952 one that turned out to be quasi-ineffective - Withdrawal from the Baghdad Pact and became closer to the Soviet Union, though remaining formally neutral - Discussions on whether to adopt or not panarabism and whether to merge or not with Egypt and the UAR: baths were in favour, communists weren’t, a power struggle between Nasser Egypt and Iraq thus erupted - Kurdish revolt (1961-63) JORDAN 1946 Independence under King Amir Abdallah 1948 the name of the country passed from Transjordan to Jordan The Arab-Israeli war of 1948 + Abdallah’s annexation of the West Bank made 2/3 of the Jordan population Palestinian. Palestinians were generally more educated, urbanized, and political than the other inhabitants and led the formation of the first opposition movement to the Jordan monarchy. Palestinians regarded Abdallah as complicit of british actions in Israel and a Palestinian activist even killed him in 1951 King Husayn (1953-1999) - Jordan was crashed between Britain wanting them to join the Baghdad pact and Nasser and his Jordan supporters anti-British and pan-arab sentiments. King Husayn in the end decided to decline the membership in the Baghdad Pact, causing Britain to withdraw the subsidy Jordan relied on. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria replaced Britain offering funds to Jordan in order to keep it afloat. - In 1957 Baathist, communists and Nasserists aligned to oppose the monarchy. King Husayn reacted imposing martial law and asking for the US economic and military support. The decision of the king to align to the US to save his throne was met with great criticism by arab nations. Jordan faced a crisis also in July 1958 when the Iraqi Hashemite regime was toppled and, in that occasion, asked again for American and British support. - Thanks to the steady flow of US funds Jordan was able to achieve a period of modernization and economic growth LEBANON Lebanon in the 1950s attracted foreign capitals by deregulating currency exchanges, removing trade restrictions and adopting banking secrecy laws. Lebanon, and Beirut in particular, until the 1970s were a place of tolerance, of intellectual exchanges and of freedom. However the political sphere was dominated by family and religious ties and founded on bribery and corruption. “In the age of Pan-Arabism, Lebanon stood out as a Western-oriented, Christian dominated, capitalist state with a discontented Sunni Muslim population” Lebanon refused membership In the Baghdad Pact but emphasized its strong ties with western states in order not to hurt any social group’s sensibilities. During the Suez Crisis of 1956 Lebanon remained neutral and didn’t close relations with Britain and France, irritating Nasser. 1958 Civil War: President Chamoun tried to serve a second mandate going against the constitution and arousing the anger of muslims. A rebellion happened and some cities refused the central control of Beirut. At the same time in Iraq Qasim was overthrowing the Hashemite regime, so Chamoun asked for US assistance fearing to fall under pro-Nasser influences. US intervened, Chamoun retired after his first mandate and was replaced by Fuad Shiab and the situation in Lebanon returned to calm after a period of civil war. Shiab was a selfless politician. He recognized the muslim discontent and tried to mitigate it by appointing more muslims in top positions. He promoted social and economic reforms to modernize the state in a policy that was named shiabism after him. ISRAEL, THE ARAB STATES AND THE JUNE WAR (P 320) (June war = six days war) The situation between Israel and its neighbouring Arab states was tense even when it didn’t erupt in conflict. During the 1960s frequent clashes happened in the Israeli-Jordan border due to Palestinian resistance movements that were created in the 1950s. Palestinian guerrilla groups based in Syria operated raids in Israel passing through Jordan, so Israel often retaliated against Jordan May 1967: Soviet and Syrian intelligence reported that Israel was planning a big military operation against Syria for its support to Palestinian guerrilla activities. The information wasn’t true but at the time it was taken as such. Nasser responded to the threat by deploying troops in the Sinai Peninsula. Nasser wanted to demonstrate his support for other arab nations and his gesture was acclaimed in the rest of the arab states. Nasser went further and asked the evacuation of UN troops stationed in the Sinai. With much surprise the UN accepted and Nasser decided to reoccupy the UN positions and to announce a blockade on Israeli shipping passing through the Straits of Tiran. Nasser was probably bluffing, since most of his army was deployed in Yemen, nevertheless he created a great momentum in the Arab world: the Jordan king and the Iraqi government both signed mutual defense pact with Egypt. Israel was triggered by the shipping blockade and by the actions of its neighbouring arab countries, so they decided to intervene. June 5 1967 Israeli air forces struck on air bases in Egypt and destroyed most of Egyptian air force while still on the ground. In the same day, after Syria and Jordan had entered the conflict, Israel demolished the air forces of these two states too. Israel then defeated the Egyptian troops in Sinai and advanced to the east bank of the Suez Canal. On June 9 a cease-fire was signed between Israel and Egypt. Meanwhile Israel conquered East Jerusalem and the West Bank at the expense of Jordan and the Golan Heights at the expense of Syria. In only six day Israel defeated 3 arab states and acquired more territories. - Egypt lost the revenues from the Sinai oil fields and from the Suez Canal, which remained closed to shipping from 1967 to 1975. To make up for lost revenues it had to accept subsidies from the previously criticized monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. After the war the Soviets helped Egypt restore his arm forces, but Egypt became increasingly dependent on the USSR for military survival - Jordan lost the fertile West Bank and Jerusalem and Bethlem, fundamental for tourism - Syria lost the Golan Heights and had Israel within striking distance from its territory - The war created another dramatic refugee crisis while Israel found itself administering an increasingly arab population - The disparity between Israeli and Arab arm forces became evident. Israeli military forces started to be considered invincible and brought the state to behave in arrogant ways at negotiations. Arab armies and government, in contrast, were regarded as incompetent. After the war peace didn’t come, but Palestinian guerrilla continued in Jordan and provoked Israeli retaliations, while in 1969 Nasser launched a war of attrition on the Suez Canal front, with heavy artillery shelling of Israeli positions, to which Israel responded with air strikes. The problem, among the others, was that the arab state wouldn’t negotiate from a position of weakness, while Israel didn’t want to compromise from his position of strength. September 15, 1970, start of the Black September: king Husayn ordered the Jordan military to repress the Palestinians without distinguishing between civilians and guerrilla groups. When the cease-fire was proclaimed on September 25 at least 3000 Palestinians had died. After this episode the PLO transferred its base from Jordan to Lebanon. Meanwhile the territories in the West Bank were occupied by Israel after the June war. At the beginning the Israeli government regarded them as lands to exchange for peace treaties with the arab nations, while religious groups wanted to permanently settle there claiming they were part of historic Israel. There wasn’t a clear decision in regard so they kept being temporary occupied until Begin was elected in 1977. Begin was committed to let Jews permanently settle in the West Bank so he promoted jewish settlements with different policies. Jewish started to settle there and to acquire arab lands. Arabs became labour workers in Israel’s properties and in general their standard of living improved because of the moderately high wages, but they became dependent on Israel. By the last 1970s Palestinians under Israeli occupation had linked with the PLO and established Arafat as their spokesperson. PART 5 – THE RESURGENCE OF ISLAM – THE MIDDLE EAST FROM THE 1970S TO THE 1991 GULF WAR Unexpected resurgence of Islamic- based political activity and protest - Imported ideologies of independence failed to improve the lives of the majority of the population, so people resorted to Islamic-based movements - Authoritarian regimes were the norm in most of Arab states and they strongly repressed the opposition, so people didn’t have outlets to express their grievances other than Islamic organizations - Revolution in oil prices (oil boycott of 1973) - Growing tension in the relations within and among Middle Eastern states (Arab-israeli wars, Lebanon civil war, Iran-Iraq war, Gulf War…) CHAPTER 18 – THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION AND THE REVIVAL OF ISLAM (P.355) In 1975 Muhammad Reza Shah had gone further in his effort to control the Iranian population by eliminating the two-party system and introducing a single party, the Resurgence Party, with which he intended to control portions of societies that had achieved a certain degree of autonomy (bazaar merchants and ulama especially). This move provoked the dangerous alliance between bazaaris and ulama, though in a situation of great political repression. The shah had many shortcomings as a ruler, particularly in economy when he failed to invest in sensible ways the funds gained with the 1973 rise in oil prices, revealing huge disparities in the distribution of wealth in the country: elites got richer while the general population, middle classes especially, saw a great rise in prices that made their lives difficult. The reliance on foreign experts and technicians, especially for armaments, was another element that caused popular opposition. At the same time from 1977 outlets to protest were opened by the involvement of human rights organizations and of the US of President Carter, who asked for an improvement in human rights conditions to the shah. The first to protest were urban professionals and university students, then joined by traditional sectors of society. Freedom Movement: founded in 1961 by Mehdi Bazargan, it represented the liberal opposition to the shah. Bazargan thought that the Iranian government should be secular, but he also gave a huge importance to Islam for the Iranian culture and opposed the shah westernizing manners. Initially Bazargan and his colleagues favoured a restoration of the 1906 constitution, with a constitutional monarchy headed by the shah. Ali Shariati was the most influential ideologue of the Freedom Movement. He mixed Marxism, shiism, revolutionism and Iranian patriotism in his messages, stating that shiism was an activist faith that required people to oppose injustices and the western models of development, preferring a modernization through shiism. The religious establishment was divided among three main groups concerning opposition to the shah 1. Many believed it was not the ulama’s duty to interfere in political matters 2. Others were moderate reformers aligned with the Freedom Movement ideas 3. Others were more militant and intransigent: they wanted to overthrow the shah and to establish an Islamic state controlled by the ulama. This group was led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, already known for speaking up against the shah and for being consequently arrested and exiled. Khomeini argued that an Islamic state modelled on the Quran and guided by men of religion could actually be established and that it would restore Iranian prestige. In January 1978 unarmed civilian protestants were repressed with force by the Iranian army, causing many deaths. This episode provoked the transformation of the protest movement into an Islamic revolutionary one, also because ayatollahs were able to exploit the episode linking it with religious customs like the 40 day custom to commemorate dead loved ones. A cycle of demonstrations, violence and death started with 40 days intervals. In summer 1978 the shah introduced a disastrous economic reform aimed at slowing down inflation rates that caused recession and unemployment and that was met with protests, to which the shah responded imposing martial law. Black Friday (September 8, 1978): hundreds of civilians lost their lives protesting against the shah. Their families turned to Khomeini and asked the Freedom movement to endorse him. Huge strikes in all major industries followed, paralyzing economy. January 16, 1979, the Shah left Iran and died in Egypt in 1980 – end of the Pahlavi dynasty February 1, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini arrived in Iran acclaimed by the population Iran society and economy were completely disrupted by the revolutionary situation and a struggle for power rose with the shah exile. Khomeini declared every government appointed by the shah as illegitimate and nominated Bazargan as prime minister. He tried to form a secular state but was restricted by the great power acquired by the Council of the Islamic republic, a religious organization made of ulama and guided by Khomeini which was the main legislative and administrative body in the country. It issued laws and could veto Bazargan’s actions. Bazargan resigned in November1979 frustrated by the impossibility of implementing his programs. - Council of the Islamic Republic: religious organization made of ulama and guided by Khomeini which was the main legislative and administrative body in the country. It issued laws and could veto Bazargan’s actions - Revolutionary Guards: created in May 1979 by Khomeini, they were mainly made of impoverished young men and were crucial to the final victory of Khomeini’s coalition. Their job was to repress people opposing the revolution - Revolutionary tribunals to process and execute former officials of the shah - Islamic Republic Party to mobilize popular support National referendum (March 1979) to approve the passage from the shah monarchy to the Islamic Republic In June 1979 Bazargan’s government drafted a constitution that was later discussed by an assembly of experts, all ulama. The first draft endorsed the principle of an Islamic state but didn’t give special powers to the ulama. The assembly of experts completely revisioned the constitution, giving all the power to the religious class and starting a process of islamization of society and of the state. The constitution gave the Iranian people the opportunity to elect the president and the representatives in the Majlis, but it also placed ultimate authority in the Council of Guardians, made of 12 appointed and non- elected ulama that could approve or refuse every act decided by the majlis. There was also the figure of the Islamic Jurist, the most powerful position in the government, appointed and not selected through elections, who had to rule waiting for the 12th Imam. The role of Islamic Jurist was covered by Khomeini. The constitution was approved with another referendum. Abol Hasan Bani-Sadr was the first elected president of Iran and he tried to prevent the ulama from acquiring more and more power, favouring a more secular government instead. He also had to manage difficult foreign relations situations - November 1979 a group of young supporters of Khomeini attacked the US embassy in Teheran and took the personnel hostage for 444 days. This episode caused great hostility between the US and Iran - 1980 Iraq invasion of Iran In 1981 Bani-Sadr became politically isolated and was impeached In the second half of 1981 the revolutionary government faced threats by the militant Islamic left, which organized many terrorist actions By 1982 the Islamic Republic had defeated challenges from both the Left and the Center and secured control of Iranian political life. The Islamic Republic then focused on restoring the economy and in the war against Iraq, which enabled the Iranian government to strengthen his ties to the population in a patriotic war. The war sent Iran into economic hardship since the war effort was self-financed, but at least it gave them a sense of self-reliance since they didn’t ask for loans to foreign states. THE ISLAMIZATION OF IRANIAN SOCIETY - Islamic principles of social justice and equitable distribution of wealth - Expansion of the role of the state at the expenses of private enterprises (nationalization of banks and industries). However, a clear economic policy between capitalism and statalism was not formulated - Tentative of land reform (of middle and large holdings and distribution to landless peasants) vetoed by the Council of Guardians (since many ulama were landowners) - Reform in the judiciary system: judgeships could be awarded only to experts in Islamic law. - The new regime dismantle many of the conquests made by women in the previous decades. Khomeini and his supporters opposed female emancipation saying that it would disrupt family life. Throughout the 1980s Iran was isolated in its foreign relations both in the Arab world and in the international arena. The Iranian revolutionary movement claimed that its objective was to establish a universal Islamic order and that preoccupied neighbouring arab countries. Apart from Syria and Libya, the other arab states sided with Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980. For what it concerns cold war alignment, Iran didn’t wat to endorse neither of the superpowers. US Irangate or Contragate: between 1985-86 US was leading an international campaign to impose an arm embargo on Iran while simultaneously selling tons of armaments to Iran through Israeli intermediation to try and favour a US-Iran alliance (also to influence the liberation of hostages in Lebanon). The strategy was unsuccessful, it caused a domestic scandal in the US and made other Arab states question the sincerity of American diplomatic initiatives. After the end of te Iran-Iraq war in 1988 Iran partially restored its relations with European countries and toned down its call for a worldwide Islamic revolution. responded with huge anti-government protests. The riots were put down by the army and subsidies were reintroduced. THE UNFOLDING OF THE PEACE PROCESS November 20, 1977 Sadat goes to the Israeli Knesset to declare Egypt’s acceptance of peace with Israel A new phase of peace-making initiatives between Israel and Egypt and mediated by the US started. Compromises were difficult to reach: Sadat wanted to reach both a bilateral agreement and a comprehensive plan for the whole Middle East, including a resolution for the Palestinian territories, while Begin didn’t want to let go of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and wanted to keep the discussion of Israel-Egypt relations only. Camp David Accords (September 17, 1978) signed by Sadat, Begin and Carter: two major documents: conditions for an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and “A framework for peace in the middle east”, which endorsed the UN Resolution 242 to settle the conflict in the Middle East. Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza Strip and West Bank was to be achieved in a 5 year period, but the proposal was too open-ended and vague to be effective. Israel de facto won the right to deal with the occupied territories as it saw fit Egyptian-Israeli signed a formal treaty in Washington (March 26, 1979). Israel started to withdraw its troops from Sinai and completed the withdrawal in 1982. The framework for peace was never implemented, despite the protest of Egypt and of the US. Begin had practically managed to exchange Sinai for control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, also neutralizing the most powerful Arab military machine. Egypt became isolated among the Arab world: it was expelled from the Arab League and all arab states (except for Oman and Sudan) broke diplomatic relations with Cairo following the Camp David Accords. The arab oil-producing states also cancelled their subsidies to Egypt, making it dependent on the West, particularly on the US. THE ISLAMIST OPPOSITION Sadat and its government started to lose support because its economic policies failed at improving the overall popular condition, because of his personal behaviour (luxuries and extravagancies) and because of the accords with Israel. These various grievances found their outlets in the formation of Islamic opposition movements. When Sadat arrived to power he mostly feared the leftist opposition, so to counter this threat he allowed a return of Islamic representative, especially of the Muslim Brotherhood, to the political arena. Formation of Islamic student associations in the majority of Egypt’s universities. They addressed problems in the university by asking for Islamic-based changes (separate classes for men and women, traditional dress codes, alcohol ban). They also provided places for socialization. Formation of militant underground organizations (al-Jihad, al-Takfir) that called for the violent overthrow of Sadat’s government by a vanguard of purified muslims who would then restore the sharia. Many of the members of these organizations were university students or recent graduates alienated by urban life and disillusioned over their future prospects. On October 6, 1981 Sadat was killed by a member of the terrorist organization al-Jihad in an effort to usher a popular revolution towards the establishment of a proper Islamic state. The revolution didn’t happen, there were no big mass uprisings and Sadat role was taken by his vice president, Husni Mubaarak. THE LEBANESE CIVIL WAR 1975-1990 After the events of the Black September in 1970 the Palestinian resistance organizations moved from Jordan to Lebanon, where thousands of Palestinians refugees were already present. In 1969 the Lebanese government had given to the PLO the supervision of the refugee camps in exchange for the PLO’s pledge to ask for consent before undertaking armed incursions against Israel. From 1970 onward however it became and habit for Palestinians to attack Israel and for Israel to retaliate on them in Lebanon. Many Lebanese started to be angry at the government because it allowed all of this and the population was divided on the issue. Muslims supported the Palestinians, also because they opposed the status quo too since they were angry at their underrepresentation in politics and at the privileged given to Christians. Rival socio-political groups emerged: - The Druze community led by Kamal Jumblatt, who formed a coalition of discontented muslims called the Lebanese National Movement - The Maronites instead were guided by Pierre Gemayel, head of the paramilitary phalange, and by former president Camille Chamoun, who owned a private militia Both the Maronites militia and the PLO and leftist groups engaged in a large-scale effort to get armaments. The situation exploded in April 1975 when the Phalange attacked a busload of Palestinians killing 27 of them: the PLO reacted and a conflict between PLO and Maronites sparked and lasted until June 1975 In August 1975 the conflict between Muslims and Maronites reignited and escalated, reducing cities to ruin. Maronites started to expel muslims from the areas of Beirut controlled by them. The PLO apart from the initial conflict managed to stay aside from this situation, but in January 1976 the Phalange, reorganized in the Lebanese Front with other Maronites, placed a siege to the Palestinian refugee camp of Tal al-Za’tar, an action that draw the PLO back into the conflict. The national Lebanese army meanwhile was disintegrating as every soldier deserted to join a militia based on his religious affiliation. The country sank into civil war. In May 1976 Syria of president al-Assad intervened in favour of the Maronites and in so doing it helped escalating the conflict. October 18, 1976 cease-fire between Syria and the PLO mediated by arab heads of state brought the worst of fighting to a halt. The cease-fire provided for an arab deterrent force to be stationed in Lebanon, but the army was mostly Syrian and suited the interests of al-Assad in the region. The PLO with the cease-fire could return to their bases and thus restored their attacks on Israel. Between 1976 and 1982 Lebanon further disintegrated into a series of confessional groups each defended by its own militia. THE ISRAELI INVASION OF LEBANON In 1978 Israel had already tried to invade south Lebanon, failing to dislodge the PLO from its bases. Following this attack UN troops were places in southern Lebanon as a buffer between Israel and the PLO, which meanwhile had extended his influence in the country due to the absence of a central government. The failed invasion taught Israel important lessons for the future invasion they were planning. The plan had 3 main objectives: - Destruction of the PLO as a fighting force - Withdrawal of Syrian troops - Alliance with the dominant Maronite group in Lebanon led by Bashir Gemayel June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon with the operation “Peace for Galilee”, publicly aimed at destroying PLO bases in southern Lebanon. In a short period of time Israeli forces went beyond their stated objective and reached Beirut, which they placed under siege subjecting it to strong air, land, and sea bombardment. On August 18 a agreement was reached for the withdrawal of the PLO forces. France and the US led a multinational force with the duty of guarantying Palestinians’ safety and supervising the withdrawal of PLO fighters, which ended on September 1. Bashir Gemayel was chosen as Lebanon president, but he was killed after a few weeks and the Begin-Sharon schema started to emerge. Israel violated the evacuation agreements by letting its forces go into the West Bank, where they allowed units of the Phalange to enter the refugee camp of Sabra and Shatila where a thousand Palestinian civilians were killed. The atrocities of Sabra and Shatila generated worldwide concern, even in the Israeli population. Sharon and Begin resigned in the following years. The war in Lebanon made the PLO flee to Tunisia, very far from the territories it sought to liberate. The PLO exited the war weak and far less cohesive. In 1983 Israel undertook a protected evacuation, but they kept occupying southern Lebanon (approximately 10% of the whole country) until 2000. Amin Gemayel, brother of Bahir, became president of Lebanon but was met with opposition by the Druze and Shias. Abandoned by the US and Israel, he asked Syria for support, which accepted and started to deploy troops to assist Gemayel. Israel completely failed to reach the objectives it had started with and in the end Syria had a greater influence on Lebanon than it did before and the PLO returned to southern Lebanon from 1985. Lebanon remained in chaos and violence in the following years. Taif Accord (1989): former members of the last (1972) Lebanese parliament and some replacements gathered in Taif (Saudi Arabia) under the auspices of the Arab League and managed to agree on a national reconciliation pact that gave muslims a greater role in the government by turning to the prime minister some of the president’s powers. The ratio for religious representation in the parliament was also changed in favour of an equal distribution between Maronites and Muslims. The agreement also stated the existence of a special relationship between Lebanon and Syria Months before the Taif Accords were signed, Gamayel’s term was ending without a defined successor. Gemayel finally appointed the commander in chief of the Lebanese armed forces, General Michel Aoun (Maronite Christian) as prime minister. The sitting muslim prime minister, Salim al-Huss declared that its cabinet was the only legitimate one. There were 2 competing governments, one Maronite and one Muslim. Soon after the Taif Accord were signed and a compromise was found, but Aoun framed himself as a patriot against Syrian influence and began a military campaign for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. His 2 years rebellion was the most destructive episode of the whole civil war. His rebellion was crashed in October 1990, when Syria launched an all-out attack on Aoun’s troops and finally defeated them, reacquiring control of parts of Lebanon. Lebanon gradually returned to normality but wo major problems persisted: - The deepening of sectarian identities brought by the civil war - The presence of armed shias militia (Amal and Hezbollah) who refused to give up their arms until Israel had withdrew from southern Lebanon EGYPT IN THE 1980S Husni Mubarak - Initially the government seemed to favour a democratic opening (1984 elections opened to the Wafd party) but it soon resorted to repressive control of the opposition. - Mubarak continued Sadat’s economic policies (mixed public-private sector economy) From 1756 Kuwait was an autonomous principality ruled by the al-Sabah family. Its economy was based on trade, shipbuilding and pearling. The rulers had little income of their own so they were funded by merchants, who in exchange were active part of the political process. Kuwait was theoretically part of the Ottoman empire, but it was administered by the Al-Sabah family. 1899 Treaty between Mubarak I and Britain: Mubarak I wanted to escape the ottoman control so he asked the british for assistance and in exchange he pledged not to enter in negotiations with foreign states without british approval Anglo Ottoman convention (1913): joint control of Kuwait by Britain and the Ottoman empire. With the beginning of WW1 however the convention was considered invalid since the ottomans sided with Germany. 1914 Kuwait was nominated an independent principality under british protectorate 1961 Kuwait became independent During the 1920s and ‘30s Kuwait became very poor due to international crisis. In 1934 the ruler gave the first oil concession and 4 years later huge pools of oil were discovered in the country. Commercial pil exports started in the mid 1940s. Consequences of the discovery of oil: - Reversal of the financial and political relationship between the amir and the merchants - Creation of a welfare state - Reliance on imported labour - New diplomatic role in the Middle East Amir Abdallah al-Salim Al-Sabah (1950-65) negotiated the country’s independence with the british and understood that it was better to invest oil revenues in sensible ways. He established a national assembly in 1962. Since oil revenues started flowing in the ruler’s hands, he didn’t need the financial support of merchants anymore so the al-Sabh family tended to exclude merchants from the political process, an action that led to protests. An agreement with tradesmen was reached according to which a substantial portion of oil revenues would be given to them in exchange for their compliance and withdrawal from the political sphere. For a long period of time Kuwait was the only regime in the Gulf to tolerate a moderate opposition and to have a national assembly. The national assembly though was dissolved in certain periods following tensions with opponents of the regime. Kuwait established a cradle-to-grave welfare system for its citizens, but foreign workers in the country didn’t benefit from the same treatment. Kuwait was dependent on external actors for its development: on the west and Japan to sell its oil and for the equipment and technologies needed for the oil industry; on foreign labour; on foreign stock markets to invest the oil revenues. The oil revenues after 1973 were so massive that Kuwait started investing in real estate and stock markets abroad and in the 1980s its revenues from these financial investments exceeded those from oil. OMAN Oman is large and geographically diverse country mainly populated by muslims of the Ibadi sect of Islam. Even though Oman was never totally subjected to british rule, it signed several treaties with Britain and relied on british assistance and funds. In 1964 oil exports started, but the country remained under very conservative policies. In 1970 the Sultan Said ibn Taymur was overthrown in a coup staged y his son Qabus. A republican rebellion spread in the 1970s among the Dhofar region but it was crashed with the help of neighbouring monarchies in 1976. Sultan Qabas started a huge modernization program, but Oman was dependent on external forces too (labour, expertise) SMALLER STATES 1971 establishment of the United Arab Emirates, a federation of 7 gulf states (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharja, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Fujairah, and Ras al-Khaimah). Qatar and Bahrain chose to remain independent In 1968 Britain declared its intentions to withdrew its troops from all the bases east of Suez, generating concern in the Gulf monarchies for a lack of protection. Iran and Saudi Arabia soon tried to expand their influence on the neighbouring smaller monarchies. Iran tried to annex Bahrain but when a UN-led popular referendum in Bahrain stated the people’s preference for an independent Bahrain, Iran dropped its claims, at the condition that Bahrain didn’t enter a federation. Qatar population mainly followed Wahhabi Islam it was particularly drawn to Saudi Arabia. The majority of Bahrain population was shia, but the ruler looked at Saudi Arabia too in order to be protected from the influence of revolutionary Iran. Bahrain was less reliant on foreign labour and expertise because its oil exports started earlier than in other gulf states. CHAPTER 21 – THE CONSOLIDATION OF AUTHORITARIAN RULE IN SYRIA AND IRAQ (P. 423) SYRIA IN THE AL-ASAD ERA Al-Assad came from an Alwite family of rural origins but he managed to climb the social ladder by enrolling in a military academy which offered post-secondary training and later a public office. He was a militant in the Bath Party and was disillusioned by the experiment of the United Arab Republic (1958-61) because of Egypt hegemony and Nasser attempt to abolish the Baath party. In 1963 Al-Assad staged with other military officers (mainly Alawites) a coup d’état that brought the Baath party back to power. The policies they implemented continued the previous campaign against urban notables - Nationalization of companies and expropriation and redistribution of lands of private estates - Purge of influential members of notable families from the government: new political alliance between people of rural origins and middle-class urbanites members of the Baath party The new government was mainly controlled by the military and Al-Assad as minister of defense and commander of the air force had a very influential role. In 1970 Al-Assad managed to arrest the other members of the government and later to be elected president in a 7-years mandate. 1973 establishment of an elected council called People’s Council. The assembly was mainly a symbol of democratic governance since the president still had the majority of the power. Al-Assad was calculating but also pragmatic, he used the military and the Baath party as an instrument in his ascent and later he kept using the party as a vehicle for indoctrination and political control. Assad also appointed his family members and trusted members of the military in key state position to ensure loyalty to his regime. The new Assad regime was mainly made of officers coming from rural backgrounds in opposition with the previous governments that were composed of urban notables educated in Europe. ECONOMY When Assad seized power, Syrian economy was mainly based on agriculture, with cotton being the main cash export. In the 1960s the Baath party had moved Syria to a state-controlled economy, nationalizing many businesses and expropriating and redistributing lands. Al-Assad continued these policies but he was more flexible towards the private sectors. The mix between public-sector dominance and private sector participation was successful for a time and brought Syria to experience an economic boom in the 1970s. A combination of Syrian oil revenues, foreign loans and funds from oil-producing arab countries enabled Syria to embark in a series of developments measures. However, these measures were strictly tied to Syrian foreign policy and when Al-Assad started to irritate the neighbouring oil-producing countries the lack of these countries’ funds made Syria fall into a crisis. Syria development had also domestic problems, including the lack of trained personnel to run the growing businesses and the custom of giving high positions to people based on loyalty to the regime rather than on merit, which led to inefficiency and corruption. Agrarian reform had a great importance to al-Assad, but it was often implemented not in an efficient way. Land redistribution was not really implemented according to the initial plans and while cotton production increased in the 1970s and ‘80s, food crops did not and Syria was thus forced to import great quantities of food to feed its population. FOREIGN POLICY Al-Assad main foreign policy concern was Israel and the Palestinian situation. This led him to upgrade his armed forces and to ask the Soviet Union for more and better armaments, at the cost of great indebtment. The main aim was to recover the Golan Heights that Syria had lost to Israel in the June War of 1967. Al-Assad found an ally in President Sadat of Egypt and together they entered the October 1973 war, exiting defeated (but partially victorious for Egypt). When Egypt signed the Camp David Accords with Israel Syria was left alone in its campaign against Israel. Syria thus started an army build up with the aim of becoming the most powerful Arab state and to achieve military parity with Israel. The immediate concern was on influencing Jordan, Lebanon and the PLO not to sign peace treaties with Israel. Domestically Al-Assda foreign policy was well- received, many saw him as the possible successor of Nasser ad a pan-Arab leader, but his decision to take part in the Lebanese civil war in 1976 siding with the Christian Maronites opposing Sunni muslims and the PLO undermined some of this consent. Al-Assad prestige in the arab world was also undermined by his rivalry with Saddam Hussein in Iraq and by his decision of not supporting him in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88). Al- Assad saw the revolutionary government of Iran as an opposition to the US-Israeli influence and thus he didn’t condemn it, but the decision to support a shia state and not a sunni one (Iraq) made him isolated in the Arab world. Despite this situation Syria in the mid ‘80s managed to acquire the regional hegemony it aimed for and no peace treaty with Israel could be negotiated without its intermediation. DOMESTIC OPPOSITION Some aspects of Al-Assad regime led to the emergence of a protest movement that almost overthrew him - His foreign policy decisions of not supporting the sunnis and PLO in Lebanon and Iraq against Iran - His agrarian reforms against the urban notables - His Alawite-dominated regime, too reformist and secular to some, in opposition to the Sunni Muslim majority of the population - Corruption of state officials An Islamic Front emerged in opposition to Al-Assad regime that called for the establishment of an Islamic state. In the 1980s major protests erupted in some cities and the regime managed to crush them and stabilize itself but at tremendous human costs. IRAQ IN THE ERA OF SADDAM HUSAYN AND THE BAATH The intifada started from within the Palestinian territories, not from the external PLO, with which the Palestinians were dissatisfied. Nevertheless, they kept regarding it as their representative in the international community. Arafat took the lead of the Palestinians and tried to negotiate with the US, the only state capable of mediating between Arabs and Israelis. Arafat understood that in order to succeed in having an independent Palestinian state the PLO had to go through the US, which would have asked them first to recognize Israel, something the PLO had always refused to do. With an historical decision, Arafat in fall1988 made an announcement on behalf of the PLO which stated that - The PLO recognized Israel’s right to exist as a state (in its pre-1967 borders) - The PLO renounced the use of terrorism and agreed that UN resolutions 242 and 338 should be the basis for a future peace - The PLO declared an independent Palestinian state located in West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital The declaration was followed by a round of US-PLO negotiations that turned out to be ineffective due to Israel harsh refusal to let go of the occupied territories and to the continued Palestinians raids against Israel. The US broke off the negotiations in 1990. THE GULF CRISIS OF 1990.91 Iraqi tensions with Kuwait on - Borders: Iraq refused to recognize the border dividing the two states, which was deliberately set by the British to restrict Iraqi access to the Persian Gulf - Iraqi great indebtment towards Kuwait from the Iran-Iraq war: Iraq asked Kuwait to forgive the debt because it was a fight for the preservation of the whole region, but Kuwait didn’t accept - Iraq accused Kuwait of extracting more than his share of oil from the Rumelia field, located on the border. More importantly, Kuwait kept exceeding the production quota of oil set by OPEC in order to maintain high the oil price. Iraq was particularly angry at this behaviour because it desperately needed oil revenues to recover from its indebtment. - Kuwait was portrayed as a traitor of the other arab nations since it was strictly tied to the US and since it kept lowering the oil price favouring the West (who financed Israel) Iraq considered the invasion and annexation of Kuwait a justifiable retaliation for Kuwait’s wrongdoings, even though in July 1990 Kuwait had agreed to abide by its oil production quota. Annexing Kuwait also promised to solve the most urgent Iraqi economic problems. Iraq dis not expect the US strong and sudden reaction, also because US and Iraq were in quite friendly terms, but the US couldn’t permit Iraq to control all the oil fields of that region. August 2, 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait and six days later announces the annexation of Kuwait as the 19th Iraqi province. US responds with Operation Desert Shield in October 1990 initially with the aim of protecting Saudi Arabia from a possible invasion. Meanwhile the US worked through the UN to establish an international coalition against Iraq, issued a formal request of withdrawal of its troops and imposing a trade embargo on all goods to and from Iraq. Egypt and Syria supported the US mission and were greatly compensated for this, while Jordan, historically pro-US, condemned it and refused to join it under Palestinian pressure. In general arab states had mixed feelings on the Gulf war: they condemned the invasion of Kuwait but they were also cautious about the US heavy deployment of troops in the region. They also started to notice US foreign policy ambivalences in the Middle East. By autumn 1990 the goals of Operation Desert Shield had been achieved and many thought that continuing the embargo would suffice to make Iraq withdraw its troops from Kuwait. Nevertheless, the US prepared for an offensive war. The UN passed a resolution setting January 15 as the deadline for Iraq to withdraw its troops, or else “all necessary means” would be used to liberate Kuwait. The war on Iraq was portrayed as necessary to punish Saddam Hussein actions and to prevent him from profiting off its unfair actions. Saddam Hussein was the object of a strong negative propaganda by western media that depicted him as the ultimate evil to justify the offensive. In reality western military actions were dictated by their fear of losing access to the Persian Gulf oil and of losing the Gulf monarchies petrodollars investments in the West. January 16 1991 Operation Desert Storm started: heavy air bombings by the US-led coalition on Iraq destroyed not only military arsenals, but also civilian infrastructures. Iraq was practically defenseless so it tried to confuse the enemy coalition by attacking Israel in what were feared to be chemical weapons. On February 24, 1991 operations to regain control of Kuwait started and were completed in just 100 hours. Later evidence showed that the US grossly inflated the Iraqi military capacity in order to justify its massive deployment of troops in the region. On February 27 the Operation Desert Storm was declared concluded with the liberation of Kuwait but without the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Following Iraqi defeat in the Gulf war popular uprisings rose in the shia south as well as in the Kurdish north. While they were initially successful, in the end they were crushed. April 6, 1991 UN-sponsored cease-fire signed by Iraq: Iraq had to recognize Kuwait’s sovereignty and the new borders drawn by the UN (and punitive to Iraq). Iraq was also asked to reduce its armaments and to hand over all its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in order for the economic sanctions to be lifted. A UN commission on disarmament was nominated to inspect Iraqi arsenals but Iraq was not cooperative and tried to prevent the commission from accessing part of its labs, so the UN decided not to lift the embargo. The prolonged economic sanctions reduce the Iraqi population to immense poverty, while the elite in power was the least to suffer the consequences of the war. IMPACT OF THE DECLINE IN WORLD OIL PRICES While in the 1970s oil prices had rose, bringing huge revenues into the finances of oil-producing countries, especially the Gulf monarchies, in the 1980s the prices began to decline sending oil exporting countries into financial problems. The gulf monarchies had used the so called petrodollars to set up huge domestic welfare systems to guarantee popular support to their regime, as well as invest in western markets generating huge profits, but in the 1980s with the decline in oil prices they couldn’t sustain their welfare programs anymore. In addition to that, states like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had to bear the costs of the Gulf War, which also limited their capacity to sell oil. A partial solution was drawing down oversea investments, but generally the welfare system was reduced. In Kuwait the Al-Sabah family managed to remain in power, but its prestige diminished and they had to integrate some form of democratic representation. May 1990 Unification of North and South Yemen in the Republic of Yemen. The new state faced some problem in the merger, such as the integration of a state economy with a free market economy, but it was also hit by the Gulf War. Yemen tried to remain neutral, but this decision led both Saudi Arabia and the gulf monarchies to expel Yemeni workers, which were a great share of Yemeni population. Despite that the state managed to survive. In 1994 a civil war started because of a secessionist movement in the South, but the central government managed to end it. CHAPTER 23 – A PEACE SO NEAR, A PEACE SO FAR – ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN RELATIONS SINCE THE 1991 GULF WAR (P.474) October 1991 Madrid conference jointly sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union: it brought together representatives from Israel and from its neighbouring arab countries that had still to recognize Israel (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon), as well as a delegation of Palestinians from the occupied territories to discuss peace December 1991-spring 1993 negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. The main obstacle was Israel’s refusal to abandon the occupied territories, but this time the US were resolved to end Israeli settlement activity, in a moment when Israel had just undertaken the biggest program of settlement construction yet to see (1990s). Since Israel didn’t stop its settlements president Bush decided to link US financial aids to Israel to its end to the settlements programs in the occupied territories, a bold move that no other US president had undertaken. President Shamir (Likud party) tried a hard line, which wasn’t rewarded in the 1992 elections that saw the victory of Rabin (Labour party), who soon declared a partial freeze to the settlement program, reacquiring good relations with the US. Secret meetings between Israel and the PLO during the winter and summer 1993 led to the Oslo Accords. The PLO decided to negotiate because it was in a weak financial position after the Gulf War and it was particularly challenged by Hamas. Arafat needed a diplomatic victory to regain support. Israel decided to mediate with the aim of ending the continuous violence and Palestinian attacks in the occupied territories. - Mutual recognition: the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and Israel as a legitimate entity with rights to live in peace and security (thus the PLO renounced to terror and violence) - Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-Rule (Oslo I): Five-year program for interim Palestinian autonomy in the occupied territories. Israel would retain sovereignty for the whole period, but giving gradual autonomy to the Palestinians. Oslo I was not a peace treaty but just an interim agreement. Israel just recognized the PLO and stated its willingness to negotiate with it, while the PLO fully recognized Israel’s right to exist. The negotiation had to be concluded in 1998 but the deadline was not met. July 1994 Arafat returns to Palestine and establishes the first administrative structures for a Palestinian state Fall 1994 Israel and Jordan sign a treaty of peace and mutual recognition September 1995 Oslo II: detailed definition of the terms and time for Israeli re-deployment from the West Bank and power transfer to the Palestinian authority. The document posed great restrictions on Palestinian actual sovereignty and left Palestinians dissatisfied with the accords and with Arafat Meanwhile Palestinians in the occupied territories were still under abrupt Israel occupation, they were dissatisfied with the Oslo agreements and with the newborn Palestinian Organization leadership, formed by Arafat and his loyal men from the PLO headquarters in Tunis and not by the leaders of the intifada which were really connected to the popular needs. In 1996 an elected council was formed but the elections confirmed Arafat as president, who then proceeded by ignoring the council and establishing an authoritarian regime. Economic conditions also declined due to Israeli labour market’s inaccessibility and to the PA leaders corruption, until they became worse than during the Israeli occupation. Palestinians disillusioned by the PLO and by the peace process turned to Hamas, which had always opposed Oslo I due to its vision of Palestine as an indivisible Islamic sacred land. They also thought that foreign leaders of the PLO were exploiting the sacrifice they had made with the intifada. Hamas started gaining great support as a homegrown Palestinian association and in 1994-95 it operated a series of terroristic attacks against Israeli civilians to protest the peace treaties. Israel’s response was to pressure Arafat to implement stricter security measures or else the peace negotiations would stop, so Arafat became even more authoritarian, persecuting Hamas members and thus losing support of the Palestinians.