Why is the Middle East such a mess? What happened?

>>2050407

>Massive recession and destabilization in Ottoman Empire blamed on decadence gives way to new schools of radical idealogies that have evolved into what we see today - late 19th century
>Fall of the Ottoman Empire, complete destrucuralization of traditional Islamic caliphate - early 20th century
>Hurried balkanization of territory captured by French and British empires, which were themselves following out the door only a couple decades later
>Giving power to the Sauds in the first place was a bad idea, because their radical fundamentalist ideologies were terribly incompatible with western powers. We could have salvaged the entire Arab region by giving power to secular moderates.
>US intervention against countries leaning toward socialism in the 20th century falling decline of British and French imperial military power.
>Rise of Pan-Arab anti-western nationalism from North Africa all of the way up into the Levant. Struggle for identity takes place in mid 20th century. Coincides with religious sectarian turmoil as hardcore fundamentalists continue to rise in relevance.
>I haven't even touched on Israel yet, but first let's go over to the Persian side of things.
>Holy fuck every idea the west has for Iran has been bad since the 40s, and this plays into destabilization and anti western sentiment in countries that fall into Iran's natural sphere of influence -- Syria/Lebanon/Iraq.

>>2050440
>that fall into Iran's natural sphere of influence -- Syria/Lebanon/Iraq.
>Syria and Lebanon
What the fuck are you smoking lad?
If anything Iran's Natural Influence are The Caucasus and Central Asia and Maybe Southern Iraq
Iran only had influence in Syria because Hafez was a retard who sided with Maronites and Alienated Saddam

>>2050440
Extremely conservative and violent Islamic movements have existed in Islam since the Rashidun Caliphate.

>>2050462

Extremely conservative and violent movements have existed.

>>2050407
Ottomans
Oil
Western-backed dictators
Fundies
the Jews

take your pick

>>2050407
The whole world is a mess anon.

>>2050407
A good and healthy ammount of massive cultural Hybris and stagnation mixed with massive foreign interests and interventions in the whole region.

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208KB, 387x468px

>>2050678
>nihilism

>>2050407
Middle East today is pretty much like Europe and South America in the 19th century

lot of big ideologues think they can solve all of the countries problems if they were in charge so they break the previous systems to do just that. It's just instead of secular nationalism it's Muslim romanticism.

There's also the "oil" thing a lucrative resource that makes the Middle east more economically dependent on foreign interests then the interest of their own people (creating said revolutionaries).

>>2050687
name one area that hasn't gone to shit

>>2050707
Greenland

The majority of the "uncivilised world" exists in its state because European imperialism decided to draw lines around people who had no interest in working together. If they had left the natural order take place the majority of the world would look very different, especially Arab and African areas. Imagine a region more like Europe. For Comparison the wold also fucked the Serbs and look what happens there. In Short the reason we are so civilised is because we learned to kill each other periodical till we got sick of it. The Arabs have never had a war big enough to smarten up because they are to busy fighting inside their own borders..

>>2050710

Google "global selenium cycle"

>>2050834 Kek