Middle East

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer explains that the area commonly termed "Middle East" is traditionally known as the countries in Southwest Asia and Egypt and in certain contexts can include such areas as North Africa and Central Asia. The writer then points out that as a major historical and cultural region, the Middle East has been plagued in recent years with political conflict that has had a lasting effect on the populations of the countries involved. This paper discusses these political disturbances, and looks at their effects on the people of the Middle East. The writer concludes that unless such conflicts are solved, the situation will continue to deteriorate, and while those in political power will likely not suffer the consequences, those within each country's population will bear the brunt of the political turmoil.

From the Paper:

"One of the most known political conflicts within the Middle East centers on the geographic region known as Kurdistan. Since the end of WWI, Kurdistan has been divided between several Middle Eastern states, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the former Soviet Union (Stansfield, 3). As the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, the Kurds are large in number, but have virtually no political power of their own."
"The area of Kurdistan has been, in the last twenty years, an area of high violence and political strife. During the Iran-Iraq war, the military forces of Iraq moved destroyed thousands of Kurdish communities and began deporting Kurds in an effort to depopulate the region. When this method failed, the political forces of Iraq began the Anfal campaign. An effort to completely disintegrate the Kurdish nation, the Ba'ath party used ground offensive, bombing, the burning of settlements, concentration camps, and chemical warfare."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Blake, Gerald, and Schofield, Richard. Boundaries and State Territory in the Middle East and North Africa. Cambridgeshire, England: Middle East and North African Studies Press, 1997.
• Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004.
• Feldman, Shai, and Levite, Ariel. Arms Control and the New Middle East Security Environment. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994.
• Human Rights Watch. Genocide in Iraq. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1993.
• Human Rights News. "Syria: Address Grievances Underlying Kurdish Unrest." Human Rights News. 2004. Hrw.org. < http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/03/19/syria8132.htm>.

More papers on Middle East:

• Dissertation or Thesis # 147438 : "The Role of the GCC Countries in Achieving Stability in the Middle East"
• Research Paper # 149584 : "Water Wars: Conflict in the Middle East"
• Research Paper # 95083 : "The Democratization of Middle East"
• Analytical Essay # 85988 : "Middle East Terrorism"

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