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The Middle East’s Great Divergence Is Underway
Key takeaways
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- The term “Middle East” reflects the region’s historical centrality to Western powers.
- The Middle East was soon incorporated into a U.S.-led order in which Washington provided military protection and underwrote the political conditions for the region’s integration into the global economy.
Get audio access with any FP subscription.
The term “Middle East” reflects the region’s historical centrality to Western powers. Popularized in 1902 by the U.S. naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, it described the lands between Arabia and India, specifically to underscore their strategic importance to British imperial interests.
So it was no surprise that the transfer of global supremacy from Britain to the United States after World War II played out most consequentially in the Middle East, its geopolitical center shifting from London’s colonial mandates to Washington’s Cold War and oil-security interests.
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