Empire, Revolt, and State Formation in the Middle East and North Africa in the 1920s

Speaker: Jonathan Wyrtzen, Yale University Chair: Toby Dodge, LSE Against a dominant historical narrative emphasizing the importance of war-time agreements (Sykes-Picot and others) and the post-World War I peace settlement in "making" the modern Middle East, Jonathan wyrtzen shifts the focus to the post-war decade, examining a set of synchronic "revolts" in the mid-1920s from Morocco to Turkey that were critical in negotiating new political topographies in North Africa and the Middle East. This comparative analysis looks at different typologies of state formation (both by the British, French, Italian, and Spanish colonial powers and by local actors including Ataturk, Ibn Saud, and Abd al-Krim) and of anti-state resistance, emphasising the importance of transregional linkages during this critical historical juncture. Recorded on 17 March 2015. Image Credit: Wikipedia. Sheikh Hilal al-Atrash, Druze rebel leader, during The Great Syrian Revolt.