The Middle East is a region with a rich history and culture. The countries were all arbitrarily created by the British at the end of World War I and this has created severe internal conflict, making unification a very difficult task. We will focus on four countries: Iraq, Egypt, Iran and Israel, to represent the range of issues, both domestic and foreign, facing the Middle East.
(Note: Pakistan is not in the Middle East)
Arguably, Iraq has been the most troubled state in every sense. Their recent history include the dictator Saddam Hussein and the United States's endeavor to "fix" Iraq. Problems arose as the United States disposed of Saddam Hussein without a post war plan. According to Georgetown University Economist Ibrahim Oweiss “winning a military war is not sufficient. What is more important is to win peace in the aftermath. The Bush Administration didn't bat an eye to and adopted a "cross that bridge when we come to it" mentality. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki was the improvised solution for the Americans and was thrust into a bad situation without having the experience or training to deal with conflicts. This resulted in sectarian conflict between Shias and Sunnis when Maliki, a Shia himself, began attacking Sunnis to the North. This action and the Sunni reaction created the Islamic State in Iraq and when they joined with other Sunni groups in Syria, they created the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS.
When looking for unification, Egypt is a country that has deteriorated. In the beginning with Gamal Nasser, Egypt was united under a military dictatorship. Nasser used the concept of Pan-Arabism and tried to unite all Arabs against Israel. Egypt led the charge in the Arab-Israeli War and the Yom Kippur War. However, after Nasser left power, the leadership in Egypt slowly separated from the people. Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi all had very controversial records with the public with the latter being forced into resignation. Yet, the public still does not know what they want and the Egyptian people are fragmented and unification is nonexistent.
Speaking of Egypt is impossible without beginning a conversation about Israel. Israel is the most unified nation in the Middle East. The country came together in the Arab-Israeli and Yom Kippur Wars and fought against all odds for their right to exist. They built themselves up to a stable economy and a juggernaut of a defense force. Unlike Egypt, Israel ran with the "us against the world" mentality and built themselves up to the top country in every positive statistic in the Middle East.
Runner up in the Middle East is Iran. With a slew of oil wealth and a fairly progressive social system, this country can be the main competitor to Saudi Arabia in their economy. However, compared to Saudi Arabia, there are less restrictive laws on women and the education rate is much higher, resulting in a population that can transition their economy once oil dries up.
With the background out of the way, we can look at how each country interacts with one another and the world. The obvious starting place is Iraq and the Islamic State. ISIS's reach has expanded to Europe and is threatening America. Yet, for all the Paris attacks, the Middle East's people feel the impacts of ISIS on a daily basis. Syrians, Iraqis, Turks, Kurds and Sauds are all involved in the fight. ISIS not only destabilizes a region with violence, they also play a hand in sectarianism. ISIS's recruiting methods prey on the government's shortcomings, providing security and resources to those left behind which in places like Iraq are very persuasive methods. This prevents the Iraqi government from being able to move forward with its people because of all the separation. In a similar situation is Egypt. No longer the military challenger to Israel, Egypt is also focusing on their own terrorist groups and unification. The government is weakening and current president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is focusing on the population and breaking up general discontent with the government formed by his predecessors. On the international stage, Egypt and Iraq are working towards agreements with other Middle Eastern nations to try to combat these terrorist groups but are finding difficulty due to their internal struggles.
In regard to foreign relations, Israel and Iran are big players. Recently, President Obama reached a nuclear deal with Iran which would prohibit the country from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for economic benefits. This is impactful because now, in the Middle East, Israel is the only country with nuclear weapons. This imbalance of power tilts to Israel in a way that they may dictate the actions of its neighbors. As previously stated, the military power of Israel cannot be matched and so, Israel becomes the ambassador to the region with their own agenda in mind and their agenda is inherently selfish. This benefits Israel and harms all the nations like Egypt and Iraq that need the help.
Writing as an American, I do not have the deep understanding of every cultural difference. On a purely political level, the issues with the Middle East are bad but not unsolvable. All the solutions start with winning over the minds of the public. While it will not be easy, it is possible to emulate the development of certain nations such as Iran and Israel. In the end, it is not about countries or rivalries or power. It is about the people and the states must provide what a state is supposed to. Security and resources. Hopefully, the world can come together to help bring back the richness of the Middle East.
