Secret agreement between Great Britain, France with the assent of Russia in 1916. Though completed before the end of WWI, agreement divides the Middle East into spheres of influences and prepares for the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and its dismemberment.  The reading of the document is confused as different states had different interpretations of the territorial meaning behind the document i.e. is Palestine part of Syria, or not?  Some parts of the document conflicted with prior promises by the British to Sharif Husayn who expected Palestine to be part of the Arab State he was to receive. The document was also confused because of changed circumstances such as the Russian Revolution and subsequent withdrawal from WWI. And after the War, President Wilson also argued for the right of peoples to self-determination and the end to secret agreements which upset the implementation of the agreement.

Statement issued by the British government in 1917 that stipulated, among other things, that the British government viewed “with favor” the establishment of Jewish home in Palestine.  The document also mentions that nothing will be done to harm the non-Jews already in Palestine or the Jews in other countries who do not go to Palestine. This marked the first great success of the Zionist movement. It is unknown as to exactly why the British decided to make this declaration.

Family which traces its ancestry back to the family of the Prophet. Sharif Husayn of Mecca was part of the Hashemite clan. He helped the British cause during WWI by fermenting a rebellion within the Ottoman Empire with the promise that Husayn would be able to form Arab state(s) (however this was ambiguously defined). Other important members of the Hashemite family include Husayn’s sons, Faisal and ‘Abdullah, both of whom assumed Kingships with the help of the British. The former was given rule over Iraq and the latter over Transjordan (now Jordan). The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan still has one of Abdullah’s descendents on the throne.

The Mandates System was an administrative system established by the League of Nations whereby more “advanced” states would supervise the development of less advanced peoples to prepare them to face “the strenuous conditions of the modern world”. The states under the mandate system had little say in what was happening in their territories and the system was little more than disguised imperialism as the mandate powers had absolute power inside their mandates, including economic and political power. Powers such as Britain used their mandates, such as Iraq, in order to further themselves rather than ensure these states had functioning governments committed to democratic, non-authoritarian principles.  The mandatory powers divided up their new territories into artificial countries with little regard to the religious and ethnic populations inside the new boarders. 

The 1920 treaty between The Allies and the Ottoman Empire following the close of WWI. The treaty abolished the Ottoman Empire and divided Western Anatolia between Greece, Italy, and France leaving only a small part of central Anatolia for the Turks. The treaty also called for an autonomous Kurdistan and an independent Armenia. The treaty, however, was never ratified as a result of the rebellion staged by Kemal Ataturk. The Treaty of Lausanne was the replacement to this treaty

Mustafa Kemal is the founder of the modern Turkish state. Better known by the name Atatürk (“father of the Turks”) he was the leader of the Turkish War of Independence. Before became Atatürk, Kemal was the most successful Ottoman general of WWI, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Gallipoli. He was sent by the Ottomon government to crush uprisings in Turkey which arose in response to occupiers. Instead of ending the rebellion, Ataturk took charge of it and Turkey was founded in 1923. As the leader of Turkey Ataturk embarked on a intense curriculum of reform, secularization, and westernization. His reforms included the regulation of clothing, a reform of the Turkish alphabet to include Latinized letters, and other stuff. He was president between 1923 and 1938

Member of the Umma Party which peaceful agitated for independence from the British on the basis that the Egyptian populace was civilized enough to merit it. Just before WWI, Zaghloul’s ideas changed and he more forcefully agitated for Egyptian independence. After the end of the War,  Zaghloul went to the British High Commissioner and asked for permission to go to the Paris Peace Conference, in response, the British commissioner arrested and deported he and his comrades. However, after the 1919 Revolution, a movement of civil-disobedience which arose as a result of his deportation, Zaghloul was allowed to return and Egypt was granted conditional independence in 1922. Zaghloul is also the founder of the Wafd (delegation) party which was extremely popular and in 1924 he became Prime Minister for a short time before resigning in protest of British demands. During his life he also held many ministry positions (probably as a result of the social connections he got through his wife)

Staged a coup with British support in 1921 and overthrew the weak government in Tehran. He was made Minister of War and had control over all of the military forces; later in 1923 he became Prime Minister.  In 1925 he had the Parliament depose the last Qajar ruler and had himself proclaimed the Shah of Iran, taking the name Pahlavi. The word Pahlavi is an ancient Persian word, and even though the monarchy was new, Khan tried to establish legitimacy through the ancient notion of kingship. Khan, like Ataturk in Turkey, tried to modernize his country. Throughout his reign the Shah banned the veil, built schools, and encouraged science among other modernization endeavors. Reza Khan was deposed by the British in 1941 in favor of his son because the British wanted to establish a supply line through neutral Iran and were also afraid Iran would align itself with the Germans.

The Pahlavis were the last ruling dynasty of Iran, though their dynasty only consisted of two people. The Pahlavis came to power in 1925 when Reza Khan became the Shah of Iran. IN 1941 the British deposed him in favor of his son Muhammad Reza who was subsequently overthrown in the Iranian revolution of 1979. Pahlavi is an ancient Persian word which Reza Khan adopted as a way to establish legitimacy by tying the new monarchy to the ancient notion of kingship.

Front de liberation national (National Liberation Front); fought an extremely bloody war for Algerian independence against France between 1954 and 1962. Leaders of the FLN include Ahmed Ben Bella, Mohamed Boudiaf, Hocine Ait-Ahmed and Larbi Ben M’hidi. After the War of Independence the FLN became the only party in Algeria’s single party system, deriving much of its legitimacy from its nationalist credentials and actions in the War for Independance. The FLN remained the dominate party until free elections in early 1990’s seemed to favor the FIS (Front Islamique du Salut).  Military intervened and canceled the elections and dissolved the national assembly. After a bloody civil war the military return to their barracks after the defeat of the FIS and its armed wing. Today, the FLN is not the only party in Algerian politics and the military seems willing to allow multiparty politics and an Islamic presence in government. 

– Ahmed Ben Bella was an influential leader and one of the founders of the FLN during the War for Independence (1954-1962). After Algeria became independent Ben Bella became the first Prime Minister and later, in 1963, he became Algeria’s first President with the support of the ALN. He was “chosen” by the military Ben Bella was ousted in 1965 in a military lead coup which put Houari Boumediene; the military felt some of his policies such as the establishment of popular militias were a threat to their own power.  During his time in power Ben Bella focused on socialism, nationalism, and agrarian reform 

Houari Boumediene was the military general who ousted President Ben Bella in a 1965 coup after the military began to fear that some of Ben Bella’s policy’s might have been eroding the militaries power.  In 1967 Boumediene himself suffered a coup, but he was able to hold onto power.  During his presidency Boumediene focused on industrialization and economic growth, and he ended Algeria’s special position with France and transferred ownership of the oil industry from French interests to the Algerian State. He died in 1978 while he was still in power.

Habib Bourguiba was the first president of independent Tunisia and a leader of the independence struggle against France which bore fruit in 1956.  During his presidency he was supportive of the Algerian Independence cause; however, he was able to balance East-West relations admirably. He even showed restraint on the topic of Israel, saying that it was their right to not be destroyed; however he sent a token force when Arab countries invaded Israel in 1967 and 1973.   He was named President for life in 1975; however, in 1987 he was forced from power by his Prime Minister Zine el-Abidine ben Ali in a bloodless coup (the Prime Minister said Bourguiba was too ill and senile to run the country).  He has been described as a Tunisian Ataturk as he emphasized secular politics, reform, and women’s rights (including the outlawing of polygamy).

Ruler of Morocco from 1927-1961, he was the sultan between 1927 and 1957 and then was named King from 1957-1961. During the 50’s the monarch associated himself with the independence struggle against France (of which Morocco was a protectorate) and later went into exile as a result of his association. In 1956 the country gained its independence

Amir Faisal was the Hashemite leader of the 1915 Arab Revolt and the son of Sharif Husayn of Mecca. After the WWI Faisal tried to assume control over Damascus and its surrounding areas, however the French did not like this idea as that area was to be part of their territory and they deposed him.  Abdullah, Faisal’s brother, began to march with his army to avenge his brother’s humiliation and the British scrambled to come up with a solution. In the end the British granted the throne of Iraq to Faisal and the throne of Transjordan to ‘Abdullah. Faisal ruled Iraq from 1921 until his death in 1933

Gamal Nasser became President in 1954, the second after the 1952 Revolution and was a high ranking member of the Free Officers.  He was the mastermind behind the revolution, and only did not take power immediately after the coup because it was decided the Revolution needed a known public face.  Nasser quickly gained popularity both within and outside of Egypt and millions of Arabs tuned in to hear him talk on Radio Cairo. His words influenced people to action (if he criticized a ME leader, people would go out and demonstrate against him), his voice became the voice of pan-Arabism, and his government became the model for Arab countries in the Middle East. Nasser also nationalized the Suez Canal which caused the British, French, and Israelis to try to militarily remove Nasser from power and get the canal back. However, the Americans were not informed and they got pissed. Amazingly the British, French, and Israelis left and because Nasser survived the Suez Crisis he became even more of a hero.  Though his cult was strong, it basically died after the failed attempt to combine Egypt and Syria into the United Arab Republic and the disastrous war with Israel in 1967. 

Nationalities and national communities are fluid concepts and a nation is a socially constructed community which is imagined by the people who perceive themselves as a part of that group. The term, first coined by Benedict Anderson, deals with the feelings of community shared by those with the same nationality even though those people may never have met before. The imagined community is possible because of print-capitalism in which people were able to learn about others far away from themselves, and therefore establish a bond of connection. As literacy rose in the Middle-East, so did nationalist sentiment.  Nationalistic tendencies also tend to fragment along linguistic lines; an example is pan-Arabism which encompasses the Arabic speaking populations of the Middle-Eastern world.

horizontal and vertical stratification are types of societal divisions. Horizontal stratification refers to social stratification based on class (i.e. wealth, social standing, education, etc) this type of stratification is predominate in the West and is the basis of political parties. Vertical stratification refers to social stratification based on sectarian differences (i.e. two Sunnis of different classes are more likely to relate to each other than a Sunni and a Shia from the same class). This system is predominate in the Middle-Eastern political system and works in the favor of those in power because they can dole out favors to the poorer classes and keep them dependent on the upper classes. What was amazing about the revolution in Iran is that Ayatollah Khomeini was able to mobilize people along horizontal lines against the people at the top. Many formal Middle-Easter institutions are formally built around vertical divisions (i.e. each top position in government must be filled with a different religious sect member)

Formal groups are those groups that are officially organized and visibly operating. Membership is clearly defined and members have specific roles. Within this classification there are two more; Associational and Institutional groups. Associational groups are groups which are formed for a specific interest; examples include trade unions, business organizations, and ethnic, professional, and political associations. Institutional groups exist to perform specific functions but they also act to promote their own interests. These groups generally operate more loosely then do associational groups and are normally government bodies like legislatures, bureaucracies, armies and political parties. Informal groups are unofficial organizations which articulate their interests in a relatively diffuse manner. Examples include kingship, status, regional groups, rioting crowds and demonstrations. These groups are normally cliques, factions, or coteries. In the Middle-East informal groups are much more important and powerful than are formal groups and the informal groups have a tendency to exist within formal groups. Within formal groups institutional groups tend to be more powerful than associational groups

- UNSURE sectarianism is narrow-minded adherence to a particular sect or denomination. This can also refer to vertical stratification which is present in the Middle-East 

Pertains to a group of individuals who identify with each other through common heritage, real or presumed 

In the Patrimonial system authority is vested in the ruler who in order to govern his territory passes authority down the line to lesser staff members who derive their authority from him. This system is good because it allows for rule over large areas; however, it is bad because the minions may realize they don’t need the ruler and because patrimonialism does not have the intimacy of paternalism, it may run the risk of fragmenting

Charismatic leadership is a term coined by Max Weber. The charismatic leader is one who is regarded by his followers to have exceptional powers and qualities. Some characteristics of charismatic leadership include the articulation of a vision and a break from the previous order. Most charismatic leaders have outstanding oratorical skills (though some do not) and engender a cult of personality, meaning most of the leader’s legitimacy comes from their personality. One problem with charismatic leadership is the ‘Routinization of Charisma’. Because charisma is necessarily outside the realm of the everyday it is difficult to maintain charismatic leadership over long periods of time during which period the leader is attending to everyday problems.

collective action problem

this is an Arabic term which means “group solidarity” it was popularized by Ibn Khaldun in his book Muqaddimah. Khaldun says that asabiyya is the reason that small groups are able to seize power and expand. He also says that after a few generations in sedentary power asabiyya fades and the original group is overthrown by a new small group.

(1332-1406) Ibn Khaldun was a North African polymath well versed in many subjects who lived from 1332 to 1406. He was born in Tunis and received the best education. He was an advisor to many rulers throughout the region. He is most famous for his book on  world history and his thoughts on the rise and fall of regimes. He believed in the concept of asabiyya, a term which was popularized in his books and that groups rose and fell from power because of group solidarity. When one has group solidarity, one will rise to power, when one loses group solidarity one will fall from power.

– The Wafd is a political party founded by Saad Zaghlul at the end of WWI. The word wafd literally means delegation and refers to Zaghulul and his colleagues’ attempt to go to Paris as representatives of Egypt after WWI in order to argue for self-determination (he eventually got there, but his presence did not have much of an effect outside of Egypt). While the British were attempting to maintain control of Egypt they attempted to play the power of the Wafd and the King of Egypt off each other, effectively limiting both. The Wafd party was extremely popular in the early part of the 20^th century, and after the end of the British protectorate, the Wafd party came to power and continuously won elections until Nasser came to power in 1952.  The party is in existence today, however, it is not as popular.

the Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic political organization established by Hassan al-Banna in Egypt in 1928 which believes in Islamic law as the basis of jurisprudence and governance . It has operated as an opposition party and at times has been banned in Egypt. At the moment the party is illegal, but tolerated and its candidates running as independents hold seats in the Egyptian legislature. Off-shoots of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as Hamas, have also had a tremendous effect on Middle-Eastern politics.

As a result of the Arab Riots in Palestine of 1936 the British set up a commission to look at the conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. The Commission, in their report issued in 1937, recommended that Palestine be partitioned into two separate states, one for Jews and one for Arabs.  The commission’s recommendation was rejected, but the report provided a precedent for the UN partition which was to come ten years later.

This was the plan for the partition of Palestine drawn up by the UN and the end of the mandate period under Britain. Passage of the plan set off a civil war in Palestine as people began to panic. A large percentage of Palestinians, especially upper-class Palestinians, left to escape the war and out of fear as Palestinians were being massacred by Jews. The civil war led to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948 Israel unilaterally declared independence.

Known as ibn Saud in the West, he is the founder of the modern country of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Ibn Saud conquered Saudi Arabi using traditional raiding methods and at some points was even sponsored by the British. Saudi Arabia was thought of as a backwater before the discovery of oil in 1938 when oil was just becoming important in the world market; however, much of Saudi Arabia’s oil was not cultivated until after WWII, most of the rights to the oil went to American oil companies. Saudia Arabia and ibn Saud are ideologically connected to the Wahhabist interpretation of Islam which is very conservative and strict in nature. The ibn Saud family has been connected to the wahhabis since the 18^th century. 

Wahhabism is an interpretation of Islam that arose during the 18^th century in connection with Muhammad ibn 'Abd Al-Wahhab, a theologian.  The sect, which was viewed as radical movement in its own times is now viewed as a very conservative sect. Wahhabism advocates a return to the original principles of Islam as embodied in the Qur’an and hadith and rejects all innovation. The movement arose in response to the perceived mixing of Islam with folk customs involving magic, mysticism, and superstition. The Wahabi movement has been connected to the ibn Saud family since the 18^th century and is the most popular interpretation of Islam in Saudi Arabia today.

the belief that Jews are a national community entitled to their own independent state. The Zionist movement redefined the Jewish community as a national community.  One of the most important figures in the Zionist movement was Theodor Herzel, an assimilated Austrian journalist who became an ardent Zionist after witnessing the Alfred Dreyfus Trial (late 19^th century). In 1987 Herzel organized the First Zionist Congress in Basel Switzerland in 1897. The first major victory for the Zionist movement was the Balfore Declaration of 1917. And the Jewish state of Israel was founded on May 14, 1948. 

the Haganah was a paramilitary organization tied to the Mapai Party (forerunner of the Labor Party) in Israel. Haganah was formed as a protector of the early Jewish settlements in Palestine after the Jews felt that the British could not protect them from Arab aggression any longer. The Haganah joined the Irgun (the militia of the Reformist Party) in attacks on the British in response to the British rejection of the report issued in 1946 recommending that 100,000 more Jews be allowed to immigrate to Palestine.

Histadrut was a huge Jewish labor union which developed during the British Mandate period in Palestine/ Israel; it was founded in 1920. This institution protected its workers, carried out a great deal of construction, had an extensive health care program, and provided numerous cultural services 

David Ben Gurion was the first and longest serving Prime Minister of Israel. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Zionism. He was a member of the Mapai Party (future Labor Party). In the 1920s he was elected Secretary General of the Histadrut and he molded it into a political, social, economic institution. He was alos the chairman of the Jewish agency  During the British Mandate years Ben Gurion was appointed to be chairman of the Jewish Agency. During WWII he followed the innovative strategy of fighting the war as if there were no white paper, and fighting the white paper as if there were no war.  In international relations Ben Gurion adopted a pro-western orientation. After spending much of his life in the political arena, Ben Gurion died in 1973

Also known as the Mapai party, was lead by David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Arlosoroff; David Ben-Gurion was the first and longest serving Prime Minister of Israel. The Labor Party favored socialism and wanted to wait to call for statehood from Britain until the diplomatic situation became more favorable. This party is the center-left political party in Israel

Adnan Menderes was the leader of the Democratic Party when it came to power in 1950. He was the first democratically elected Prime Minister and he served between 1950 and 1960 until he was deposed by a military coup. He was arrested and charged with violating the constitution and was summarily executed.

Sunnnis and Shias are two different sects of Islam, the former being the majority. The split occurred almost right after the Prophets death when the community was deciding who should become the leader, while most people supported the leadership of Abu Bakr, one of the Prophet’s companions, some supported Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, believing that the leader of the community should come from the ahl al-bayt or family of the Prophet. Kurds and Berbers are different minority ethnic sects. Maronites and Copts are two different Christian sects, the former hailing mostly from Lebanon and the later coming from Egypt.