Western Imperialism in the Middle East: 1914-1958

Year 2007, Issue: 18, 149 - 152, 01.07.2007

İlkim Giritlioğlu

Abstract

“There are Westerners, and there are Orientals. The former dominate; the latter must be dominated, which usually means having their land occupied, their internal affairs rigidly controlled, their blood and treasure put at disposal of one or another Western power.” This is how Edward Said summarized, in its simplest form, the Western perception of the Middle East after the end of World War I. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1917 started a new era in the history of the Middle East, totally changing the borders, authority and the ethnic map. The disappearance of the Ottoman authority created a power vacuum in the region which was filled by British and French mandatory powers.

Keywords

Western Imperialism, Middle East, Edward Said

References

• Fieldhouse, David Kenneth, Western Imperialism in the Middle East: 1914-1958, New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.