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POLI M-E > midterm > Flashcards

midterm Flashcards

1
Q

Ethical Challenges of Studying M-E

A
  • For decades, some researchers have contributed to Western power structures in the Middle East by contracting for think- tanks, the intelligence services, and the military
  • Additional ethical challenges for Western scholars arise from interactions with local experts, activists, and informants, especially in countries with repressive governments
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2
Q

Islam through Western
eyes

A

-Written by Said
-Two Sides of False Coin
-Brutal radical Islamist representation
-Apologetic form of a plea for Islam Humanism
- West views Islam through: passion Prejudice and political interests

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3
Q

Said on Orientalism

A
  • impossible that “a large ideologically freighted generalization could cover all the rich and diverse particularity of Islamic life”
    -“Orientalism” as an “imaginative geography” civ. west and unciv. other
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4
Q

The “Oriental Other”

A

-endowed both with far greater size and with a greater potential for power than the Wes
-objectifying it while also fearing it as a threat to Christianity

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5
Q

Scholarship and colonial knowledge

A

-Familiarity, accessibility, representability: these were what Orientalists demonstrated about the Orient. The Orient could be seen, it could be studied, it could be managed.
-Development of social sciences toFrance conquered Algiers in

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6
Q

France conquered Algiers in

A

1830

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7
Q

In colonial eyes, the First World possesses knowledge while the Third World possesses

A

Culture

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8
Q

Perceptions of Muslims by the west

A

Muslims and Arabs viewed as either oil-suppliers or potential terrorists especially after 9/11

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9
Q

“Saving women in Iraq” (3)

A

-US First Lady Laura Bush says that US instilled democracy and saved women & daughters
-Gayatri Spivak offers analysis of narrative of “white men saving brown women from brown men”
-Abu-Lughod: Why only look at “saving women and culture” instead of looking at role of USA in repressive regime

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10
Q

Why state formation matters for IR

A
  • The process of state formation in Third World/underdeveloped countries underscores colonial powers’ role
  • The Western role in drawing Middle Eastern borders would have an impact on interstate relations within the region and beyond
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11
Q

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

A
  • Late 19th century: Ottoman Empire was waning; European powers carved out chunks of territory for themselves: Cyprus, Tunisia, the Balkans, Egypt
  • In 1839, the Empire undertook the “Tanzimat” reforms intended to slow its decline
  • These reforms continued and expanded into the 20th century
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12
Q

Endgame: the Ottoman Empire

A
  • During WWI Besieged by British and Entente forces on the Mediterranean (Gallipoli, 1915) , southern (Arabia and Palestine, 1917), and eastern (Iraq, 1916-7) fronts, the Ottoman Empire lost much of its territory
  • Believing the British would help them achieve statehood, Arab militiamen joined them under the leadership of T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”)
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13
Q

Wilson’s Fourteen Points, Jan. 1918

A
  • Reflecting growing US power, he made his“Fourteen Points” address to the US Congress, envisioning self-rule for previously occupied nations
  • In his 12th point, he addressed Arab nationalist aspirations: “the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted. Security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development”
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14
Q

The San Remo Conference, April 1920

A
  • UK, French, and Italian representatives met at San Remo to finalize arrangements of trusteeship in the Middle East
  • The Mandatory governments were given “full powers of legislation and of administration”
  • The League of Nations awarded the trusteeship of Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq to the British at the San Remo Conference, 1920; it came into operation in 1923
  • France received Mandatory powers over Syria and Lebanon, ending King Faisal’s rule over Syria
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15
Q

The Franco-Syrian War

A
  • 30/9/1918: British forces capture Damascus
  • 5/10/1918: With British permission, Emir Faisal, commander of Arab rebels vs. Ottomans, declares independent Syrian Arab government
  • July 1919: In Anglo-French Agreement, UK agrees to cede Syria to France a per terms of Sykes-Picot Agreement
  • Mar. 1920: Arab Kingdom of Syria declares its independence; European powers convene San Remo Conference in April to divide up Middle East territory
  • June-July 1920: Syrian rebels revolted, expecting to lose but seeking to undermine French imperial legitimacy; kept fighting after Faisal’s surrender
  • 24 July 1920: French forces seize Damascus; create separate Lebanese state
  • 1921: British made Faisal King of Iraq in exchange for approving San Remo terms
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16
Q

Egypt: the limits of decolonization

A

-1919 Mass nationalist uprisings vs Brit control led Britain to consider other options
-1919 Joint copt muslim protests shows religious unity
-1922 British Treaty with Egypt ended the Brit mandate and gave Egypt independence
-However under the treaty’s terms the brit maintained control over Suez canal, military bases on Egypt soil to “defend” it against “external aggression” protecting foreign interest and local minorities and the S/udan
-Egypt still wasn’t admitted to the league of nations

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17
Q

Iraq a British Mandate invention

A

-By 1914, the uk wanted iraqi oil
-British captured Baghdad in March 1917
-British carved iraq out of the ottoman provinces of mosul baghdad and basra
-They imported king daisal from Arabia appointed a Sunni monarchy to govern
-Kurds in north shi’a in south rejected Sunni primacy
-British made utrastrataegic kuwait a separate country angering Iraqis

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18
Q

Iraqi revolt 1920

A

-Angered by brit control
-The brits put down the revolt only with great difficult
-Brits relied on aerial bombs, Brit General Haldane called for poison gas use

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19
Q

Paradox of british strength regarding Iraqi resistance and policing

A

Had so many ressources and strength but colony could revolt at any moment so is it strength

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20
Q

Colonial control and threat perception

A
  • “British and French colonial threat assessments assumed that political disorders were likely to begin in urban or tribal settings”
  • The colonizers assumed “that the peasant majority in the countryside was easily led into dissent by their own community leaders or, more simply, by a sense of having little to lose.”
  • Colonial intelligence services believed “Muslim subjects were predisposed to religious fanaticism or political extremism”
  • Fearful of challenges to their rule, colonial officials used “disproportionate force to contain unrest in the short term, which only heightened the likelihood of more widespread dissent in the long term”
  • Geographically and ethnically remote areas were harder to subdue
21
Q

George Kennan’s
“Containment” strategy

A
  • Implemented by President Harry Truman in 1947
  • Involved “containing” the USSR via the “adroit and vigilant application of counterforce at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points” –George Kennan
22
Q

Evolution of the Truman Doctrine

A
  • Triggered by the Greek civil war, the doctrine called for the US to assume the responsibility of assisting nations struggling to resist communism, lest it spread and cause regional instability
  • This solidified the perception of the globe as a chessboard on which pro- and anti-communist forces were constantly at war
  • Britain, in particular, welcomed this US role
23
Q

The USSR projects its power 40s

A
  • Aug. 1941: To counter Iranian monarch Reza Shah’s pro-German leanings, the USSR and UK invaded Iran
  • Dec. 1943: Wishing to thwart Soviet influence, Churchill and Roosevelt signed the Joint Allied Declaration on Iran; Stalin agrees to guarantee Iran’s future sovereignty
  • The USSR could not convince Iran to grant access to its oilfields
  • May 1946: Soviets withdraw from Iran
  • Despite its great power, “there were clear limits to the risks that the Soviet Union would take in any confrontation with the US” (Sluglett, p.66)
24
Q

The emergence of oil

A
  • Oil exporters: Iran (1913); Iraq (1928); Bahrain (1932); Saudi Arabia (1938); Kuwait (1946)
  • By the mid- to late 1940s, US oil companies controlled at least 42% of oil in the region
  • In later decades, Algeria, Libya, Qatar, also struck oil
  • The vast majority of this oil was destined for Western markets
  • The USSR was largely self-sufficient and bought minimal amounts of Middle Eastern oil
25
Q

Buildup to the 1953 coup in Iran

A
  • British government felt insecure about Iranian oil nationalization; in 1945, the UK Ministry of Fuel warned the Foreign Office:
  • “The strength of British oil lies in the fact that we hold concessions all over the world, in which we are ourselves developing the oil and controlling its distribution and disposal. It would weaken our position if countries began to develop their own oil.”
  • By 1950, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company had in Iran the world’s largest oil refinery, supplying 85% of UK fuel needs
  • Iran wanted 50% of profits; the UK was willing to increase Iran’s share from 17% to 24%; the UK ambassador told Mossadegh Iranians were being “greedy”
26
Q

Mossadegh

A

-Regarded by many Iranians as incorruptible
-The iranian parliament elected him bc he was the only leader willing to oversee nationalization
-Mossadegh regarded this as an assertion of Iranian sovereignty
-Mossadegh established the National Iranian Oil company and Invited to work for it
-UK ambassador Shepherd “Begrudgingly admitted that Mossadegh had captured the will of the imagination of the people”

27
Q

The UK Foreign Office assesses Mossadegh

A

-Iran doesnt want to flood the market with cheap oil since it yields less profits and this could endanger the power of the West. This nationalization could influence other oil rich countries
- Throughout, the UK was unwilling to accept any compromise short of Mossadegh’s overthrow

28
Q

US and UK size up Iran

A

-State dept says Mossadegh was smart hornest witty and well supported
A UK Foreign Office analysis declared that nationalizing was a revolutionary drive of the three lower classes against the upper class and the British who were identified with that class

29
Q

Escalation of Iranian Crisis

A
  • Feb.1952: US and UK intelligenceo fficials discuss possibility of persuading Iranian generals to overthrow Mossadegh but he was too popular
  • The BBC waged a propaganda campaign via its Persian-language broadcast; disinformation spread through Western press to vilify Mossadegh
  • Jul.1952: Riots in the streets force shah to safeguard Mossadegh’s position and give him control over the War Ministry
  • Nov.1952: Eisenhower elected in US; State Sec. J.F. Dulles and CIA Director Allen Dulles have personal stake in law firm representing Anglo-Iranian Oil Co.
  • CIA and British MI6 went to work planning a coup
30
Q

Mechanisms of the Iranian coup

A
  • British had cultivated a network of informants within Iranian security forces, including key generals, also among journalists and local authorities
  • Key coup plotters, e.g., Iranian Gen. Zahedi, had had strong ties to Nazis during WWII, hating Jews and communists; local Nazis were paid and urged to attack Communist Party (Tudeh) members in riots
  • CIA organized the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Mossadegh’s police
    chief, spreading instability and fear within security forces
  • CIA, MI6 spread rumours of secret Mossadegh alliance with USSR
  • After initial setbacks, on August 19, Iranian forces converged on Presidential home and arrested Mossadegh; 300 were killed in skirmishes with loyalists
    *The CIA “had a direct role in kidnappings, assassinations, torture, and mass street killings” (Abrahamian, p.187)
31
Q

Iranian Coup aftermath

A
  • A new consortium of it’l oil companies was established: 40% of controlling shares went to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, renamed British Petroleum; 14% to its ally Royal Shell (thus giving majority vote to the British); 40% to a group of American firms; and the remaining 6% went to the French state company
  • The consortium was to give 50% of profits to Iran, but “gained full control over management, refining, production, and distribution of oil” (Abrahamian, p.211)
  • Mossadegh, key ministers, and thousands of loyalists and Tudeh members were arrested; Mossadegh himself got a light sentence; Tudeh party members were tortured, and some executed
32
Q

Cold War: The state-centric era

A
  • Middle Eastern states gained independence before or during Cold War
  • The Cold War was state-centric: even weaker states had relatively centralized governmental power
  • Competing for client states, Great Powers offered Third World countries economic and military aid, reinforcing governments
  • Third World states joined East Bloc vs. West Bloc rivalry, bolstering their international standing
  • After Cold War, many states (Syria, Libya,
    Iraq, Yemen) weakened
33
Q

Arms Racing

A
  • Refers to two or more states trying to outdo each other in military sophistication and size
  • The Cold War is renowned for the superpowers’ nuclear arms race
  • Yet superpowers also supplied ever more sophisticated weaponry to their client states, especially in Middle East
  • Superpowers and regional rivals competed alike
  • Wars broke out repeatedly
34
Q

Iraq and the Cold War: CENTO

A
  • 1955: the US promotes the Baghdad Pact (aka Central Treaty Organization, or CENTO) to contain the USSR
  • CENTO members: Iraq, Iran, Turkey, the UK, and Pakistan
  • 1958: Revolution in Iraq topples monarchy; secular Arab nationalist Ba’ath government takes over; Iraq withdraws from CENTO in 1959
  • CENTO useless; dissolves in 1979
35
Q

Iraq and the superpowers

A
  • The Soviets backed national liberation movements in Syria, Egypt, Iraq that pursued the “non-capitalist road”
    -1958-61: Egypt and Syria merge into United Arab Republic; USSR gets closer to Iraq
    -1963: Coup overthrows Iraqi regime; thousands of communists and leftists killed, angering Soviets
    -April 9, 1972: Iraq and the Soviet Union sign an historic agreement; The USSR sells Iraq cutting edge-weaponry assists Iraq with oil infrastructure
36
Q

Regional war and the superpowers: Iraq-Iran, 1980-88

A
  • 1973-82: Oil boom - Iraq buys Western goods, including French weapons
  • 1980: Iraq invades Iran, aiming to seize borderlands; war drags on
  • Shaken by Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, US sells Iraq modern weapons, including chemical and biological weapons technology
  • Meanwhile, Iranian government cracked down on local communists, rejected Soviets
  • By late 1980s, USSR and USA both supported Iraq vs. Iran
37
Q

Ideology and patron-client relations

A
  • The role of ideology changed over the course of the Cold War
  • Superpower relations with Middle Eastern states were complex, not simply imperialist or neo-imperialist
  • To some extent, they can be described as Patron/Client relations: but clients can switch patrons, or have multiple patrons → playing superpowers off each other, e.g. Egypt, Iraq
  • Some Middle East states very skilfully played one superpower off against another
38
Q

The Soviet-Syrian Relationship (Golan)

A
  • The common understanding of Cold War dynamics is that superpowers controlled client states
  • Client states often had more autonomy
  • Despite Soviet power and arms sales, Syria often charted an independent path that did not align with Soviet wishes
  • 1970: Against Soviet advice- and despite the threat of US intervention- Syria intervened militarily in Jordan as fighting broke out between Jordanian government and Palestinian militants
  • Syrian President Assad refused to sign a Friendship and Cooperation Treaty with Moscow, although Egypt (1971) and Iraq (1972) did so
  • The USSR sought to promote the Syrian Communist party, creating tensions with governing Arab Nationalist Ba’ath party
  • Soviets sought to discourage Syria and Egypt from launching Oct. 1973 war vs. Israel, but supplied them with much weaponry
  • Soviets also tried to pressure Syria into diplomatic negotiations with Israel
39
Q

The informal economy

A
  • Often referred to as the “Black” or “Gray” Market
  • Informal activities constitute more than one- half of all economic output and equal 75% of the gross domestic product of some countries (Peterson, p.40)
  • One key aspect of neoliberal globalization is “informal-sector activities – ‘work’, licit or illicit, that is outside of formal market transactions” (Peterson)
40
Q

Gender and the informal economy

A
  • Women do most informal work, but this is largely under-theorized
  • “Structural hierarchies” shape markets based on factors such as class, gender, and other forms of identity
  • Informal-sector activities are especially prevalent in wartime conditions, which overturn typical social and economic mechanisms
41
Q

Types of informal work

A
  • (1) Sheer survival needs motivate individuals
    and families to engage in ‘coping
    economies’ that facilitate social
    reproduction
  • (2) Military objectives motivate individuals
    and groups to participate in ‘combat
    economies’ that fund and facilitate insurgent
    activities
  • 3) As regulatory mechanisms break down,
    profit motives generate ‘criminal
    economies’ that are gendered and
    transnational
  • These categories often overlap
42
Q

Typical informal activities run by
women include

A

“communal sharing, redistribution through family networks, volunteer work, subsistence agriculture, petty trade, street vending, farm labour, home-based businesses, waged work, labour migration and remittances”

43
Q

Informal economies: The case of Iraq

A
  • 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War; Iraq’s 1990 invasion and annexation of Kuwait; the subsequent UN embargo and first Gulf War against Iraq in 1991; and international sanctions until the second invasion in 2003 “had devastating and long-term effects”
    -“From a relatively prosperous,
    literate and ‘modernizing’ country” under Saddam Hussein’s centralized dictatorship, “Iraq deteriorated dramatically as a result of wars and international sanctions”
44
Q

Some gender dimensions of Iraqi IR

A
  • During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War “the glorification of a militarised masculinity coincided with the glorification of the Iraqi mother” (Peterson, p.45)
  • Post-1991, international sanctions impoverished Iraq, imposed food scarcity, malnutrition, and disease, adding a “burden of responsibility” for women
  • International sanctions upended the class- and social orders in Iraq: the black market boomed, the professional class declined, and poverty worsened
  • Schooling, literacy rates, and infrastructure declined or collapsed, bearing a disproportionate impact on women
45
Q

Impacts of the 2003 US-UK invasion

A
  • After 2003 invasion, instability and economic insecurity became the norm
  • Occupying forces failed to protect Iraq’s population and were often themselves implicated in violence
  • “Years after the invasion, occupying forces have failed to ensure safe water, adequate electricity and reliable communications” (Peterson, p.47)
  • Women had to cease participating in the informal economy out of fear
  • Saddam’s predictable violence replaced by chaos: “Fear of abduction, rape, and murder has kept women confined to their homes” (Peterson, p.47)
46
Q

Gender and the turn to the “combat economy”

A
  • There are key gender dimensions to post-2003 insurgency and criminality
  • Post-invasion, unemployment remains high for men and women, but men are much more likely to turn to combat activities
  • “Feminist studies indicate that many men respond to perceptions of ‘failed manhood’ – exemplified by unemployment, inability to provide for the household, impotence in the face of occupying forces, and so on – by displaying aggressive behaviours”
  • This is especially evident in contexts where the state and social order have broken down
47
Q

Instability and gendered violence in Iraq

A
  • Pre-2003, women in Iraq enjoyed freedom of movement and faced no systemic threats regarding their mobility; after the war, a ‘climate of fear’
  • Armed groups have targeted women’s organizations and family-planning facilities, and threatened and killed women political leaders and women’s rights activists
  • Women are the victims of kidnapping, street violence and ‘honour killings’
  • Post-2003, Iraqi government and occupying forces have failed to provide security; religious conservatism and sectarian violence has grown
  • Power is increasingly exercised by local forces and especially ‘clan leaders, militias, armed groups, religious parties and political strongmen’ who rarely favour the empowerment of women
48
Q

Impacts of targeting women

A
  • Attacks on and murders of women leaders send a powerful signal to all women and “eliminate individual women who have much-needed leadership experience and intellectual resources”
  • The intimidation institutionalizes a return to women’s domesticity and re-inscribes patriarchal ideologies and identities
  • Younger women who have had fewer educational opportunities may ‘willingly’ submit to subjugation and reduced public-sphere aspirations
49
Q
A

POLI M-E (2 decks)

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