20th Century Issues
Aim: How do the conflicts of today effect the world? (political, social, economic)
Do Now: Take Quiz. You have 10 minutes.
Lesson Overview:
| Item | Approx Time |
| Do Now | 3-5 Min |
| Mini Lesson | 15-20 Min |
| Activity | 15 Min |
| Discussion | 5-7 Min |
Arab-Israeli Conflict
Background
Following the withdrawal of European imperialism from the Middle East, a variety of nationalistic groups sprung up demanding sovereignty for their respective nations. Arab nationalism was present in Algeria, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. The Arab world is defined as nations practicing the religion of Islam. A call for Pan-Arabism was made by Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had the desire to unite all the nations of the Arab world. The Pan-Arabic movement flourished for a short period when the Arab world was contesting the presence of the Jewish state of Israel, but has since decayed as Islamic countries squabbled amongst themselves over territory and oil. Zionism, founded by Theodor Herzl, is defined as the nationalistic movement of Jewish people and their desire to establish their own sovereign nation in the Holy Land. After World War II, the nation of Israel, led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, was formed making Zionism a successful nationalistic movement. Since then, nationalism has played a role in the turbulent Middle East. Arab nationalistic movements will be in direct conflict with each other and with Israel up to the present-day.
The Arab-Israeli Wars
A series of wars were fought between the Jewish sate of Israel and the various surrounding Islamic states. Arab nationalism had both a unifying and dividing influence on the Arab-Israeli Wars. The Jewish state of Israel was viewed by the Arab world as a foreign influence that threatened a traditional Islamic way of life. Arab nationalism unified to a degree because the surrounding Islamic nations saw Israel as a common enemy. Despite being unified by religion, each Arab nation had its own agenda concerning territory and power. Therefore, the Arab nations would never be able to consolidate forces well enough to defeat the Israeli Army. Areas of contention included the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights.
The first Arab-Israeli conflict pitted two nationalistic movements against each other. The War for Independence (1948-49) was the failure of the Arab world to stop Israel from being formed as a Jewish sovereign state. This war resulted in Jerusalem falling under the control of the Israelis and the end to a proposed plan for an independent Palestinian state to be formed. The Suez War of 1956 resulted in Nasser's Egypt losing control of the Sinai peninsula, threatening the stability of the vastly important Suez Canal. The Six-Day War of 1967 saw many of the surrounding Arab nations attack Israel and then proceed to lose territory (the contested areas listed above) to Israel in less than a week. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 was an Egyptian attack across the Sinai and became a Cold War event as the Americans and Soviets became involved. Nasser's successor, Anwar al-Sadat, (pictured here) was the first Arab leader to recognize Israel as a nation. For this alone, he was assassinated, effectively ending any attempts at lasting peace. The conflict continues today.
The Palestinian Situation Throughout this entire period of conflict between the Arab world and the Israelis has been the issue over Palestinians. A large population of Arab people, the Palestinians were promised a sovereign nation at the end of WWII. The plan disintegrated with the arrival of the Israelis and the beginning of the conflict. Since then Palestinians have taken up residence in most countries in the Middle East and many have immigrated to the United States. Even the nation of Israel has a significant population of Palestinians, which has served to exacerbate an already volatile situation. Beginning in the 1960's, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO,) led by Yasir Arafat, has led Palestinians against Israel in a nationalistic movement for a sovereign Palestine. Terrorism has been employed against innocents on one side and drastic force have been resorted to on the other. Peace accords have been made but then eventually fail. The conflict still continues.
Pol Pot - Cambodia
The French left French Indochina (Southeast Asia) in the 1950s after years of warfare with nationalist groups. Communism seemed destined to spread into the region from China. The U.S. foreign policy of containment of communism would lead to their involvement in the area in the unpopular Vietnam Conflict. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos all eventually became communist in the 1970s. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge orchestrated mass killing of intellectuals and so-called reactionaries which became known as the Killing Fields.
Khmer Rouge
A group of communist guerrillas in Cambodia during the late 20th century, led by Pol Pot, that gained control of Cambodia after the withdrawal of American troops from the Vietnam War. The initiated a reign of terror, killing over a million people to remove all western influence from the country. This gross violation of human rights ended when Vietnam invaded and occupied the country in 1979. In the 1990s, the United Nations negotiated a peace settlement, and began the democratic process in Cambodia.
Iranian Revolution
Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution
During the 1960's and into the 70's, the Shah of Iran, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, instituted westernization programs designed to modernize the nation of Iran. Islamic Fundamentalists, strict followers of Islam, believed that westernization and modernization were in direct conflict with the traditional Islamic way of life. Pressure from the Iranian Revolutionary Council, led by religious leader the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, shown here, Pahlavi left Iran leaving Khomeini in control. Khomeini is considered a nationalist leader because he forced change in order to do what he felt was best for the Iranian people. Khomeini was an enemy of any foreign influence coming from the West, including the United States. Fifty-two American hostages were held against their will from 1979 to 1981. Islamic Fundamentalists are so religiously strict they have come in direct conflict with other Islamic nations, namely Iraq, over issues concerning oil and religious doctrine.
Apartheid - South Africa
European settlers have ruled South Africa since the mid 17th century. While South Africa gained independence from the British Empire in the beginning of the 20th century, the country was still controlled by the white minority. Black South Africans lived under the policy of apartheid, which severely limited their rights. Under apartheid, black South Africans could only live in certain areas, were required to use separate trains, beaches, restaurants, and schools, and could not enter into an interracial marriage. The African National Congress, a group formed in protest of this policy, was eventually outlawed due to their violent tactics. One of its leaders, Nelson Mandela, was imprisoned for over thirty years for his involvement in anti-apartheid demonstrations. Apartheid lasted until the early 1990s when white South African President, F. W. de Klerk ended apartheid. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa's first black president. However, many human rights problems still exist in this country, as white South Africans still control most of the economic wealth.
Darfur Conflict Sudan
The Darfur Conflict[14][15] was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in favor of Sudanese Arabs.
One side of the conflict was composed mainly of the official Sudanese military and police, and the Janjaweed, a Sudanese militia group recruited mostly from the Arab Abbala tribes of the northern Rizeigat region in Sudan; these tribes are mainly camel-herding nomads. The other combatants are made up of rebel groups, notably the SLM/A and the JEM, recruited primarily from the non-Arab Muslim Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit ethnic groups. Although the Sudanese government publicly denies that it supports the Janjaweed, it has been providing financial assistance and weapons to the militia and has been organizing joint attacks targeting civilians.[16][17] The Sudanese government uses oil revenues to fund a military capacity that is in turn, used to conduct war in Darfur. Oil revenues collected from companies around the world fund the civil war as well as violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Sudan’s oil wealth has played a major part in enabling an otherwise poor government to fund the expensive bombers, helicopters and arms supplies which have allowed the Sudanese government to launch aerial attacks on towns and villages and fund militias to fight its proxy war in Darfur
The conflict's origin goes back to land disputes between semi-nomadic livestock herders and those who practice sedentary agriculture.[21] Others opposed the usage of the term Arab and Black because all parties involved in the Darfur conflict—whether they are referred to as ‘Arab’ or as ‘African,’ are equally indigenous and equally Black. 'Arab' in the Sudanese context is different from Arab in the American context.
Since the population of Darfur is predominantly Muslim, conflict is not only about race or religion, but about resources as the nomadic tribes facing drought are going after the territory of sedentary farmers.
Arab Apartheid
Beginning in 1991 elders of the Zaghawa people of Sudan complained that they were victims of an intensifying Arab apartheid campaign. Sudanese Arabs, who control the government, are widely referred to as practising apartheid against Sudan's non-Arab citizens. The government is accused of "deftly manipulat(ing) Arab solidarity" to carry out policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs in Darfur.
Results
- Humanitarian catastrophe.
- Start of the Civil war in Chad (2005–present) and the Central African Republic Bush War
- High-level violence and banditry continues
- Truce signed in 2010.
Bosnia - Balkan War
Yugoslavia was created at the end of World War I. It contained various ethnic and religious groups. After World War II, this area was dominated by the Soviet Union. After the fall of communism, the various ethnic and religious groups, including the Orthodox Christian Serbs, the Roman Catholic Croats, the Muslim Albanians, and others, attempted to separate from Yugoslavia and form their own nations. The nations of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina all gained independence at this time.
However, this independence came at a price. War and ethnic violence have occurred throughout this region since the breakup. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, many non Serbs were either killed or forced out of the country by Serb forces. This policy was called Ethnic Cleansing. The Yugoslav army, under the guidance of Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic, fought to keep non-Serbs from breaking away from Yugoslavia. During the 1990s, he used his army to terrorize ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, who were asking for self rule. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) finally put a stop to this violence, and Milosovic was arrested and was put on trial for war crimes which lasted 5 years and never ended in a verdict before he died in his prison cell at the Hague, Netherlands.
Classwork & Homework
Homework: Work on Thematic Essay. Due Friday 1/20/12.