Regional Politics 101?

Part of the reason I love Israeli studies is that I get to learn more about the rest of the region as well.  This was particularly true last week, when we had a speaker come in to discuss the broader conflicts of the “Muddle” East and how they are all separate, yet intertwined.  I now know more about the divisions and politics of: Egypt, Syria, Iran/Iraq, Sunni/Shia, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Israel’s relationship with it’s neighbors.  I feel terrible for not remembering his name, but he was by far my favorite lecturer of the trip.

His rationale for Israeli allying itself with the Sunni’s was fascinating (and logical), and I think I support it based upon his reasoning.  I’m not as gung-ho as he is about the idea, but I think he did a great job of explaining a broader context along side domestic conflicts.  The way he described the Muslim Brotherhood as more pragmatic than ideological is also very interesting, since they have ties with Hamas in Gaza.  While the entire regional political situation appears to be an absolute Balagan, he did a great job of helping me personally in wrapping my head around the issues and connections.

As an International Relations major, I think it’s definitely easier to look at domestic and foreign separately, but in this region, that becomes difficult.  Sometimes I’m great at putting two separate historical events in different countries together and finding the connections, but usually, I get that “OH!” moment when it’s explained to me.  In 90 minutes of lecturing, I got so many of those moments, that now, while I still am no middle-east expert, I find much of the talk about the region much much more accessible.

His explanations not only helped with the regional politics, but the interregional politics.  As a Western European Studies specialist, I find that his explanations also helped us see through an external lens.  Especially with the Syrian conflict, he was able to help me see connections between this civil war and it’s impacts on the West.  With the Russian Federation and Iran arming the Assad regime, it helps understand why the West is less likely to help the Rebels for fear of a new proxy war that might hurt post-Cold War Russo-Western relations.

In summary, I loved this lecture.