West Asia is the region some still call the Middle East. Before the Second World War, it was called the Near East - as opposed to China, Japan and other distant countries labelled the Far East. The Middle East, then, was all the territory that lay between those two extremes.
More and more, these terms are considered offensive because they reflect colonial powers' view of the world. When we say something is near or far, it must be in relation to some fixed point. Saudi Arabia, the Occupied Territory of Palestine and Iran lie close to Europe so they received the 'Near' designation. When the United States (US) became the power centre, the name changed to Middle East.
You can see why people native to those lands want to shed such distinctions; Superprof is happy to help the initiative along. As we discuss West Asia's geopolitics, we'll put emphasis on the current Israel-Palestinian war. But there's plenty more going on there, so we'll also cover:
- the region's history and current influences
- why long-simmering regional tensions boiled over
- how Arab-Israeli conflicts contrast with the Russo-Ukrainian war
- what's at stake in West Asian geopolitics
Looking Back on West Asian History
West Asia lies along one of the main migration paths out of the African continent; it is one of humanity's cradles of civilisation. It's also where two of the three main Abrahamic religions were established. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim Jerusalem as a holy site. Religion is one of the main sources of conflict in West Asia. (Photo by Levi Meir Clancy)
Artefacts establish that humans inhabited this region at least 1.5 million years ago. By all indications, harmony was scarce. First warring tribes and then, warring civilisations wrested the lands from one another.
Around the year 1200 Before the Current Era (BCE), civilisation collapsed. This Late Bronze Age collapse gave rise to two peoples: the Israelites and the Philistines. The latter, also called the Sea People, crabbed out an existence for themselves in the lowlands. The Israelites rebuilt their society among the hills.
It was around that time that the Israelites founded Judaism, the initial Abrahamic religion. Their beliefs made Israelites' lives more difficult; they endured constant provocations from secular and polytheist neighbours. A few centuries after the Roman Empire gained control of the region, Emperor Constantine imposed Christianity as a mandate.
Christianity evolved from Judaism during the period of Hellenistic regional government. Despite the common root, the Jewish people found life under a Christian mandate intolerable. They left the region to settle throughout Europe and Russia. The people called Palestinians remained and, through the centuries, submitted to various conquering forces.
The Ottoman Empire ruled the region generally called Palestine for centuries; until the early 1900s, to be exact. That is how Islam became the region's dominant religion. Islam is the third main Abrahamic religion, now practised across most West Asian countries.
Reflecting on Today's West Asian War
It might seem strange to include religion in geopolitical affairs but, in this instance, faith is the key to understanding tensions in West Asia. As religious belief systems diverge, adherents vilify each other, often breaking into conflict. Today's Zionist Jews believe they must reclaim all of their biblical lands, which calls for evicting Muslims from their ancestral homes. (Photo by Mohamed Hamdi)
In 1913, the British Empire was fighting the Ottomans to claim the Palestinian territories. The British enlisted Zionist Jews fleeing Russian pogroms, promising them an independent state in exchange for their services. After the fighting was done, they appeared intent on reneging on their Balfour Declaration. It was only after the Second World War that Jewish people finally had a land of their own.
Of course, that meant displacing all of the Palestinian people who had occupied the region for centuries. The entire Arab world revolted. The ensuing Israeli-Arab war delayed the establishment of the Jewish state for two years. The Nation of Israel gained official recognition in 1948.
But the fighting never truly stopped. For decades, Israelis have encroached on ever more Palestinian territory, displacing ever more families. They've also launched attacks on neighbouring states. But the most remarkable aspect of all this is that, while Israel became a formally recognised country, Palestine never did. To this day, there's no such thing as Palestinian citizenship.
How West Asia's War Differs From Europe's
Western powers often invoke Judeo-Christian tradition and ethics in international policy. As you just read, there are three main Abrahamic religions. Why is the Muslim faith left out of great powers' ethics discussions?
Just like 'Middle East' and 'rules-based international order', 'Judeo-Christian' frames the Western-centric narrative. Through the clever use of language, these states reinforce what has been a 600-year dominant voice. Such language adaptations cloud a lot of behind-the-scenes geopolitical engineering.
Towards the end of the Second World War, Russia was a US ally, though it was a marriage of convenience. Starting in 1947, the US felt it necessary to contain Russia because it feared the spread of communism. The point became moot when the Iron Curtain fell, effectively dividing the world in two.
By 1990, the Soviet experiment was over. The East-bloc countries were keen to attain the economic status the wealthier West had achieved. How that happened is a story for another day but the lingering Cold War mentality is salient to our topic.
After a brief flirtation with equanimity towards Russia, the US reverted to its Cold War playbook. Blame for this lies on both sides but the end result remains that the two countries see each other as rivals. However, the US has a greater media reach and thus, a bigger megaphone.
For decades, the US lobbed provocations at Russia and then broadcast the Russian response. This tactic made it seem like Russia was unreasonable and unwilling to participate in global affairs. As with Palestine's people, the ultimate offence to Russia was encroachment. Not of their land but through military pressure and economic manipulation.
In the Israel-Palestine war as with the Russo-Ukrainian war, the aggrieved party is painted as the aggressor. You might have noticed that the Western press presents an Israel-Hamas conflict with no mention of Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire. Sleight-of-hand linguistic tactics such as these mean to keep us inflamed so we overlook the Muslim population and their stake in this conflict.
It appears that the Ukrainian president has fallen out of favour, though the Western press makes no mention of such. Indeed, that war has all but disappeared from our news feeds. It's hard to spin the fact that, despite NATO and Western backing, David was unable to slay Goliath. Still, the clever use of language persists whenever the news reports on the Russo-Ukraine war.
West Asia's Impacts on Global Geopolitics
The US says it maintains a military presence in West Asia to protect US national security. That level of security initially meant protecting one's country against a military attack. It's since expanded to cover everything from economic and energy needs to food security. So it's no stretch that the US would 'protect' the world's most energy-rich region to ensure its own energy needs are met.
The trouble is the extent of that protection. The petrodollar - the mandate that Saudi Arabia may only trade oil for dollars, has dominated oil trade since 1973. The US has benefited from this arrangement but it has cost the Saudi and other (oil-producing) nations dearly. These nations are tired of their wealth supporting the country that regulates them.
China is another big player in West Asian affairs. Its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) brought regional infrastructural improvements and it promises to continue doing so. China also brokered peace between two of the region's biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia and Iran. That's something the US couldn't do in the 50 years it dominated the region.
However, the US did promote Arab nations' thawing towards Israel. The 2020 Abraham Accords first saw the United Arab Emirates (UAE) normalise relations; Bahrain followed soon after. And then, shortly after Saudi Arabia's induction into the China-member group (BRICS) was announced, the US hastened to promote its own Saudi deal.
The proposed agreement would see the US as the Saudi arms dealer in exchange for a Saudi signature on the Israeli normalisation accord. However, doing so called for forsaking the Palestinians. Geopolitical analysts report that that prospect incited Hamas to lash out on October 7th, (2023).
It appears that the Saudi-US deal is now off the table. That's bound to hurt the US, whose economy is on ever-shakier ground. That's bad news for all of us because the US dollar underpins so much of the global economy.
It's also dangerous. Elusive victory in the Russo-Ukraine war aside, the US is the most militarised nation on Earth. Not just in advanced weaponry but because there are ~750 American military bases around the world.
The Israeli war on the Palestinian people has accelerated the profound geopolitical shifts already underway. China is playing a growing role in global affairs. Diplomacy - not weaponry, is its greatest asset. China's initiatives in West Asia stymie US efforts at every turn. The world has taken notice; that may be the most dramatic shift in global geopolitics.
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