Redefining the Post-Nation-State Emergence Phase in the Middle East in Light of the “Arab Spring”

The first phase of modernization of the Middle East, involving major foreign influence over the political thinking and ideologies of the region, lasted until the de facto disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in 1917. With the end of the war and the postwar agreements, the second phase began. It was marked by deep disappointment at the fact that the League of Nations sanctioned foreign presence in the region, and by the division of the Arab territories into a series of newly created entities. This second phase in the political history of the Middle East lasted until the 1967 War and was characterized by the development of unique Arab nation-states. In the aftermath of the 1967 War, each Arab country rendered the concept of a single, overarching Arab nation-state useless. During this phase, the concept of the separate Arab nation-state became fully legitimate. With the “Arab Spring,” a new phase began: now that the Arab nation-state has been legitimized, the nature of the local regimes is at stake.