On May 16, 1916, 100 years ago Monday, Britain and France signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which shaped the Middle East for the century to come. The deal ended the Ottoman Empire's 400-year reign and sought to define Britain and France's spheres of influence and control in the region. Later, after London and Paris exited the Middle East in the wake of World War II, the Arab states were left to their own devices and, under the auspices of Arab nationalism, led the tone that continued to shape the region. Over the years, many Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sought to challenge the reality the Sykes-Picot accord, created in favor of carving a new Middle East order. But in a world reluctant to change the territorial borders it holds sacred, the Sykes-Picot deal proved to have surprising longevity. As it turns out, dividing the Arab world into nations was primarily an Arab interest, and the differences between the various entities proved stronger than any common denominator. But nothing lasts forever: The 2011 Arab Spring and the chaos it introduced through the entire Middle East heralded the beginning of the end for the Sykes-Picot era, as countries such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya, all but disintegrated in its wake. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi even went as far as declaring the deal null and void in June 2014, when he declared the inception of the Islamic caliphate in the areas seized by the jihadi group in Iraq and Syria. Truth be told, the Arab Spring was just the tip of the iceberg, as many Arab regimes began crumbling even before 2011. The role of the state as the organizing force in society has been replaced by chaos, the role of Arab nationalism as a leading belief has been usurped by Islam, and the role of the Arab collective as the regional landlord has been seized by Turkey, Iran and other external forces, led by Russia, seeking to reposition themselves as the Middle East's new masters. The Arab world, it seems, is immersed in a past rife with conspiracy theories, as if it has not been 100 years since London and Paris sought to determine the fate of the Middle East. As long as the Arabs blame so-called Western conspiracies in collusion with Israel for their problems, they will find it hard to devise solutions. The Arab world's failure to promote unity, political stability and economic prosperity is not the result of the 1916 deal, but the result of Arab societies' and rulers' failure to promote internal reforms that can effect true change.
Many in the Arab world hold Britain and France -- the architects of Sykes-Picot -- responsible for the disintegration of the Arab nations, and the Arab collective's failure to position itself as a dynamic force on the world stage, one whose people enjoy political stability and economic prosperity. But the Sykes-Picot deal was signed 100 years ago, and Britain and France no longer play any part in Middle East dynamics. Therefore, holding them responsible for the crisis plaguing Arab nations today is the root cause of the problem.
The end of the Sykes-Picot era
פרופ' אייל זיסר
פרופ' אייל זיסר הוא מומחה למזה"ת ואפריקה וסגן הרקטור באוניברסיטת תל אביב
