The Impact of the Colonial Past on the Development of Middle Eastern Societies

Područje Bliskog istoka odavno je izazivalo zanimanje znanstvenika. Zbog događaja u zadnjih stotinjak godina posebno su zaintrigirani politolozi budući da je u razdoblju prije toga, za vrijeme Osmanskog Carstva, ovo područje bilo razmjerno mirno. Mnogi smatraju da je ključan bio utjecaj europskih velesila uspostavljanjem kolonijalnog Mandata nakon Prvog svjetskog rata. Međutim, dok se većina znanstvenika bavi ocjenjivanjem Mandata, rijetki se bave njegovim utjecajem na razvoj i unutardruštvene odnose bliskoistočnih društava koji su, vjerujem, povezani sa samim razvojem. Na primjeru Egipta, Iraka, Sirije i Libanona pokazalo se da je homogenim društvima, u pravilu, lakše upravljati nego složenima. Jedina iznimka je slučaj Iraka čije je društvo izrazito složeno, no unatoč tome utjecaj kolonijalne prošlosti na razvoj Iraka bio je razmjerno plodonosan.The area of the Middle East has long aroused the interest of scientists. Due to the events of the last hundred years, political scientists have been particularly intrigued since in the period before that, during the Ottoman Empire, this area was relatively peaceful. Many believe that the influence of European superpowers by establishing a colonial Mandate after the First World War was crucial. However, while most scholars are concerned with evaluating the Mandate, few are concerned with its impact on the development and intra-social relations of Middle Eastern societies that are, I believe, related to the development itself. The example of Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon has shown that homogeneous societies are usually easier to manage than comples ones. The only exception is the case of Iraq, whose society is deeply complex, but nevertheless the influence of the colonial past on the development of Iraq has been relatively fruitful