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PRINTING CONFLICTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
(POLITICAL GEOGRAPHIC REVIEW)
Manvender Kaur Sarjit Singh
Xiamen University Malaysia
Email: manvender1@gmail.com
Abstract
MiddleEastis aregionwithgeographicalirony. With strong geographicelements and having both
physical and non-physical diversepotentials, this region shouldbe politicallypowerful. In fact, Middle East
seems like"a hostage held region," where its strategicand potential geographical conditions
havetriggered the presenceof foreignforcesinthe region with various political and economical interests
fromtimetotime. The presence ofPersian Empire, which later on followed byOttomanTurkeyto the era of
France Political Forces of Napoleon, alltried to rulethe region. Likewise, during the First and the Second
World War, this area was significantly strategic because itplayed aroleinthe victory of allied countries,
asa militarybaseandlogistic track. The region became more significant when oil fields were discovered
in the 1940s. This had invited more foreign forces to come particularly the United Statesand the
European countries. Conflict of interests of world power in the Middle East continues to put its
hegemony until the present days. Variousforeign interestsinthe region,more or less, initiated conflicts in
the politics of the region, particularly creating dilemma in the integration of all Arab countries.
KeyWords: Middle East, Geographical Irony, Conflict, Politics, Arab Countries, World Power
A.INTRODUCTION
With all its complexity, the Middle East is not easily understood
comprehensively by analysts and foreign observers. To define the term "Middle East"
or formerly often called "the Near East" there is still no agreement about which
countries are included in the region this. Even among international political experts
(diplomats and mass media) there is no similarity regarding the definition of "Middle
East", also regarding which nations, countries and regions can be included in the
"Middle East" region. Apart from the debate over the definition of the existence of the
Middle East region, the author refers to the definition most commonly used by
referring to an area that stretches from Libya at the west end to Iran at the east end
and from Turkey at the north end to the Arabian Peninsula at the south end. The
mention of the Middle East according to Kasijanto Sastrodinomo is indeed not just a
geographical term, but rather as a geopolitical concept constructed by the West and
its allies. The term Middle East first appeared since World War II by Alfred Thayer
Mahan, a US naval strategist to name an area east of the desert of the former Ottoman
Empire which, if seen from Europe not far away. After Middle East II began to be
known as conflict-filled territory. George Lenczowski in "The Middle East in World
Affairs" described the political life in the Middle East region as "conspiracy" between
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a number of Western countries and local political forces. In other words the Middle
East can also be said as a term that was born from the results of the plot. The Middle
East is an area that has always been a concern of humankind from time to time, so
much history is engraved in this region, from the history of the golden age of culture
that stretches in the Nile, Euphrates and Tigris rivers, to the emergence of political
shock from Iran with the birth of Islamic power able to change the shape of the
kingdom into an Islamic republic, until the bloodshed in various domestic, regional
and international political interests in several conflict situations; ArabIsrael War, US-
Iraq invasion to "Arab spring" political revolutions in several countries in the last two
years.
Not only that a few centuries before the Middle East had given birth to a
number of "miracles" as well as making this region as a spiritual mecca with the birth
of the world's major religions whose influence was felt by hundreds of millions of
human beings to date. But on the other hand this region also gave birth to the "mecca"
of competition and conflicts of interests between intra-regional and Western countries
after the discovery of oil content in the barren and sandy underground around the
1930s. Instantly the Middle East is seen as a "new and strategic force" that is beginning
to be discussed, not only in the context of global practical politics, but also its dynamics
are increasingly interesting to study and study. Geographically, the Middle East gave
birth to an ironic reality, the strategic location of the region and all its wonders should
make this region more stable, but instead the region is known as a "hot region" with
various conflicts of interest. From these conditions the authors are interested in
analyzing the existence of this region to the dynamics of the conflict that occurs in it
using the perspective of political geography.
B.DISCUSSION
Political Geography
The term political geography emerged in the late 19th century, by a German
biologist named Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904). However according to Blake and
Drysdale the roots of political geography have existed since Ancient Greece through
Aristotle's thought, also studied by Arab historian IbnKhaldun and philosophers
French Montesquieu. The three thinkers explicitly consider geographical factors in
their works about the state. But lately Ratzel's work is considered more focused on
studying the study of political geography in his 1897 work entitled
politischegeographie which later led him to be dubbed a "father of political
geography". Ratzel defines political geography, namely the study of the state as a
space organism. The state is described as an organism that is attached to the earth,
whose fate is determined by two main variables, namely: Raum (space) and Lage
(position). As a scientist who was also influenced by the way of thinking of Charles
Darwin, Ratzel saw the state as an organism that had to compete with other organisms,
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and in order to develop the "organism" it needed labensraum (space to live). In other
words, Ratzel with this biological model wants to show that each country has different
needs depending on the physical conditions of the existence of each country. And one
of the fundamental requirements is the survival of the population.
Ratzel's thoughts in developing political geography studies were continued by
Rudolf Kjellen from the University of Gothernburg, according to Kjellen "to obtain
living space needs to be expanded", even though it should lead to war. This study also
led to studies of inter-state relations and the implications of this relationship for the
international arena as a whole. This is reinforced by the new definition of political
geography put forward by Jack Plano and Roy Olton in the International Relations
Dictionary, which is a study that examines a country's political policies and foreign
policy conducted on the basis of geographical considerations. Another definition
arises from the results of the decision of geo-political experts at the 1983 International
Geographic Union, by agreeing on the definition of political geography as follows:
"fuller understanding of the political problems of territory, the oceans and human
resources. Thus the understanding of the state as a territorial phenomenon requires
the study of characteristics not only in the physical political space such as territory,
natural resources, population but also in non-physical characteristics such as ethnic
and cultural elements. According to Mohtar Masooed ethnic and cultural elements are
important to note because these elements provide validity to the existence of the
nation-state, in other words also a pre-requisite for geopolitical analysis.
Furthermore, in the development of this study, modern political geographers
develop and refine previous concepts of political geography to explain patterns of
relations between countries. There are at least four theories put forward by several
political geographers in this paper. First, Heartland Theory, this theory was
introduced by Sir Harford Mackinder (1869-1947), a British national military strategist.
In his work "the geographic pivot of history", Mackinder tries to interpret world
history based on geopolitical thinking, where the center of land power is the most
important in the world, as well as the most powerful fortress in the world. The very
representative land power center was seen initially located in the heartland of
Germany (Eastern Europe) which later became known as the heartland. Further
development, the vast land area in Asia, especially in Siberia, Russia, was later viewed
by geopolitics Jeman Karl Haushoffer as a a new land force that will perfect the power
of heartland. Correspondingly, Haushoffer "encouraged" Germany to form a joint bloc
of land forces in Asia (the Soviet Union). The combination of the two forces based on
the vast and unblocked land force was known as the "Eurasia" of the merging of
Europe and Asia, which Mackinder later called "world island". Thus the core thinking
of Mackinder can be summed up as follows: who controls East Europe command the
Heartland, who controls the heartland command world island, who commands the
world island command the world ".
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Second, Sea Power Theory of sea power as the basis of geopolitical theory was
first introduced by Admiral Alferd Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), a US naval strategist.
This theory emphasizes that maritime power is the key to becoming a world power.
A scientific analysis of history, where the British navy is able to explain the great
power of the British Nation as a world power. In his view, AT. Mahan argues that
samude
Geography of Middle Eastern Politics
Strategically, the Middle East has always been the most important region, so
whoever controls it will have a strategic position in the world, its geopolitical
uniqueness and geostrategy are recognized by large countries. This came to the fore
after World War II, the global situation at that time was marked by the political and
economic dominance of major industrial countries and the struggle for influence
between the United States and the Soviet Union. And the Middle East region emerged
as a new power as well as an important "object" that began to be taken into account in
the world political constellation. In terms of political geography there are a number of
reasons why this region is so important:
A). Strategic location
Strategic geographical location has its own advantages for a country / region. This is
because the physical geographic location is very influential on national strength. In
general, an area is considered strategic if it is located in a strategic position as well,
including being traversed by trade traffic, both land and sea. The Middle East region
is seen as very strategic, for at least two reasons;
a. The region on three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe, automatically links these
three continents and is important for global economic, trade and defense strategies.
b. Countries in the Middle East region are bordered by several seas, straits, which are
very strategically located;
1. Mediterranean (Mediterranean) is located along the border of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia.
This sea separates mainland Africa and Europe.
2. The Red Sea is located between Africa and Arabia, precisely on the border of Saudi
Arabia and Sudan
3. Arabian Sea, located in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean between Arabia
and India
4. Dead Sea, located on the border of Jordan and Israel
5. Caspian Sea, which borders Iran.
6. Black Sea, found in Turkey
7. Aegean Sea, located on the border of Turkey and Greece.
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Besides having important seas, this area also has strategic straits and is very important
for trade routes (especially oil).
1. Giblaltar Strait
This strait becomes a separator between North Africa and Europe, precisely located
between Morocco and Spain. This is one of the busiest straits in the world because it
is a short road trip for ships from the Atlantic Ocean (European America) to Asia.
2. Strait of Bab-Al Mandap
This strait is located at the end of the Red Sea precisely on the coast of Yemen. This
cross is important because all ships that take the Suez Canal the Red Sea - Indian Ocean
are almost certain to pass through this strait. Soviet), by mastering Bab-Al Mandap it
will be able to exert a great influence on the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula
region.
3. Turkish Strait
This strait becomes important because it is a transit point (trade) from the Atlantic
Ocean to Asia. As well as the only Russian trade route from the Black Sea to the
Mediterranean Sea. This is likely one of the main considerations of NATO to include
Turkey as one of its members. During the Cold War, this strait became very important
for the Soviet Union, due to the cold season of the US seas frozen. This became known
as the "warm water politics" of the Soviet Union. And for the US, the Turkish Strait
was once a base / place to control the activities and strength of the US during the Cold
War.
4. Strait of Hormuz
This strait is located in northern Iran and Oman in the south. Traffic in these waters,
although narrow (6.4 kilometers wide), is very heavy due to several features, namely;
all ships or transportation of oil to and from the Persian Gulf - Arabian Sea - Indian
Ocean are confirmed through this strait
Mapping Political Geography Conflict in the Middle East
The geographical features of the Middle East on one side do indeed benefit the
region, but on the other hand it causes problems / conflicts. Following is the mapping
of several conflicts in the Middle East caused by geographical factors;
a. Boundary Dispute
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Regional borders are a symbol of national sovereignty and power. The border is like
human skin, where the border of a country serves to protect the security of the
country's territory, its inhabitants, its natural resources, also serves to maintain good
relations with neighbors, good fence makes good neighbor. But in the Middle East, the
border problem creates various border conflicts, which are caused by at least three
things.
First, the role of imperialism, for example in 1916 through the Sykes-Picot
agreement The British and French governments divided up the former Ottoman
empire (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan). Where the British get the rights to Iraq, Jordan,
while France gets the rights to Syria and Lebanon. Also in 1917 through the Balfour
Declaration, Britain granted Israel territories in Palestine to create a prolonged conflict
to this day. Secondly, it is difficult to determine the borders of the mainland due to the
natural conditions of sandy lands, and also the difficulty of determining the land
borders which then reach the coast such as those of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia and the
Algerian-Moroccan conflict over Western Sahara, as well as Iraq and Iran in fighting
over the Shattal-Arab. Third, border conflicts due to the presence of natural resources
(oil, minerals, water) at the border (land, river, sea). Problems that often arise with
regard to who has the right to manage the allocation of water or natural resources that
may be contained by rivers. For example: Conflict in Saudi Arabia and Sudan over the
management of natural resources contained in the Red Sea. Likewise the conflict in
Egypt, Sudan, and Uganda in the fight over the debit of the Nile profits. Another
example: The city of Kirkuk which is rich in oil content, then triggers a prolonged
conflict between the Iraqi Government and the Kurds who want independence and
get support from the US for independence.
b. Water problem
Water is one of the vital sources of human life, so it is not surprising that there are
conflicts caused by water, and not a few conflicts that occur in the Middle East region
caused by water.
The following factors cause it;
1. Limitations of fresh water
The problem of fresh water as the main commodity to fulfill daily needs is very
limited in this region. While the need for water is increasing from year to year due to
increasing population, and increasing agricultural production. Boutros Boutros Ghali
once predicted that water would become a more valuable commodity than oil, and
subsequent Middle Eastern countries would fight for water. So there are fears that
some time in the future Arab countries will spend part of their oil revenues to buy
water. Saudi Arabia, for example, to meet the needs of its people for fresh water, it is
automatically supported by the country's large financial capacity. So it does not rule
out the possibility that water will be more valuable than oil.
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2. Rivers run through several countries
In the Middle East which consists of approximately 20 countries, it turns out
that only has 4 large rivers as a source of life for its people, namely the Nile River,
Jordan River, Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. The problem is amid limited fresh water
resources, these rivers flow through many countries. So it is not uncommon for
conflicts to occur because some countries build dams and reservoirs in their territories
resulting in reduced river flow / water discharge to other countries. Such as Turkey
which built the Attaturk dam triggered the Turkish-Iraqi-Iran-Syrian conflict over the
utilization of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Likewise Syria, in 1975 built the Al-
Thawra dam whose water discharge was accommodated in Al-Asaad Lake. Syiriaini's
action caused his political relations with Iraq to be strained, because the water
discharge of the two rivers (Euphrates and Tigris) automatically decreased in Iraq and
this condition certainly threatened the lives of the Iraqi people for their need for fresh
water, especially the agricultural sector. Another case is the conflict of struggle
between Iraq and Iran over the ownership of Shattal-Arab, where the meeting of the
Euphrates and Tigris rivers along the 80 km shown in the picture below is a vital area
for both parties as access / oil route to the Gulf. River flow conflicts also occur over
rivers Jordan which is a river that is vital for Jordan and Israel. Israel's dependence on
this river has made returning to occupied Palestinian Arabs very impossible. Some
literature states that Israel's dependence on the river reaches 50 percent. This river
empties into the Golan Heights where Israel has also invested heavily in its
agricultural development. Besides that, Jordan is also very dependent on the flow of
this river because of its vital access to the Mediterranean. For this reason, there is no
alternative for Jordan to negotiate peacefully with Israel to reach an agreement on
river water allocation.
Oil Problems
The oil factor has always been a central issue and has always received
"accusations" as the main trigger for conflict in the Middle East, especially in parts of
West Asia, both regional internal conflicts and international scale conflicts involving
foreign parties (Western) with an interest in the region. Following are some of the
factors causing oil conflicts in this region:
1) There are foreign interests, such as the US and its allies to control oil-rich regions.
This is the reason for the US attack on Iraq in March 2003, after the accusation of the
ownership of the Contract for weapons of mass destruction was not proven.
Furthermore, it is very illustrated in US support for Kurdish independence demands
from Iraq, as well as the involvement of NATO forces in the overthrow of President
Gaddafi in Libya, allegedly because of political economic interests because Libya is
the largest oil producer in Africa.
2) Oil has always caused anxiety, especially in the Iraqi community because the
commodity is the only force that Iraq has to meet the needs of its people, and also
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becomes a bargain in the international world. If there is a crisis in the oil sector, no
other commodity can be relied on by Iraq.
3) There are striking differences between countries that have abundant oil and
countries that have less oil. Among the Arab countries there are some countries that
are relatively rich because they produce a lot of oil. This condition tends to influence
the country's foreign policy, especially towards the West. This is also what has
hindered the Arab unity movement. For example: The foreign policy of oil-rich
countries such as Saudi Arabia and the emirate countries in the Gulf of Persia (Bahrain,
Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Oman) tend to be pro-western - this is different from other
countries such as Syria, Algeria, Libya , Egypt (for some time) which has less oil
resources than countries in the bay.
3. Oil concentrations are generally located in areas that have the potential for conflict;
for example, the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq is home to the largest Iraqi oil reserves,
where the area is a base of Kurdish tribes who are enemies of the Iraqi government
and are fighting for independence from IIrak.
Iraq-Iran War
Iraq's hostility with Iran concerns complex and interrelated issues, starting with
ethnic differences, namely on the part of Iraq and Persia on the part of Iran, dynastic
rivalries in the past between Umayyads and Abbasids or between the Ottomans who
controlled Iraq with the Persians in Iran, also the upheaval between Shiites and Sunnis,
or because of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. In relation to geographical
conditions, Iraq has a direct border with Iran at the end of the bay called Shatt al-Arab
as shown below, Iran insists on defending the region after the discovery of oil
resources in Abadan. But in 1975, Iran-Iraq agreed to sign the Algiers Treaty which
divided Shatt al-Arab for Iraqi and Iranian shipping, in return Iran would not incite
or assist Kurdish insurgency in Iraq. However, this agreement was later revoked
unilaterally by Iraq because of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. As a result, this
neighboring country was involved in a war for 8 years (1980-1988). At that time, Iran
destroyed Iraqi oil fields in Fao, Khoral al-Amayah and Khoral al-Bakr, as well as oil
refineries in Basra which could produce 140,000 barrels per day.
Iraq-Kuwait War
Between 1990-1991, Iraq was involved in a gulf crisis which then broke out into
an open conflict with its neighbor Kuwait. On 2 August 1990 Iraq launched its invasion
of Kuwait. The trigger for the Iraq-Kuwait war was economic (oil) problems, before
Baghdad accused Kuwait of "robbing" Iraqi oil resources (in the disputed Ramallah
region of Iraq and Kuwait), worth 2.4 billion US dollars. Another accusation is that
Kuwait and the Arab Union (UAE) have "hit Iraq from behind", they succeeded in
flooding world oil which resulted in losses on the side of Baghdad worth 14 billion US
dollars, due to violations of the OPEC quota by Kuwait and the UAE, the oil price had
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indeed had a chance plummeted to 15 dollars a barrel.23 Leads that relied on oil as
their main commodity were briefly hit by a drop in oil prices on the international
market. Moreover, Baghdad was actively pushing for economic and military
development due to an eight-year war with Iran that resulted in the destruction of
Iraq's social economic infrastructure By trying to exclude Kuwait Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein hopes to cut corners to restore the country's economy. For Iraq, oil is
a two-sided currency, which concerns the country's strengths as well as its
weaknesses. Iraq has the second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, it is estimated
that Iraq's oil reserves are 112.5 billion barrels or 10.7% of world oil reserves, while its
pre-war production capacity with Kuwait is 3.5 million barrels per day. Compare this
with Indonesia's oil reserves which are only 10 billion barrels, producing 1.3 million
barrels per day. While the weakness lies in the geographical condition of this country
which is a "land locked country" so that this country faces difficulties when it comes
to exporting its oil, especially by sea. The geographical situation is the second
justification for Iraq to annex its neighbor Kuwait, thus the coast becomes longer and
sea access is wider, including the existence of two islands, namely Kabar and Bubiyan,
and at the same time can be annexed. This situation also does not necessarily provide
a big advantage for Iraq in developing its oil production, because Iraq will always face
several obstacles in this regard.
Oil Issues in the US-Iraq Conflict
The US began to pay attention to oil in the Middle East more or less half a
century ago, when the US Congress held a special session to issue a decision on the
amount of oil the US must import each month. US attention to oil in the Middle East
was heightened after the Arab oil boycott following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
President Jimmy Carter (1976-1980), had set Carter's principle that requires the US to
secure by all means of its oil supply. This principle emphasizes that if a threat arises,
it must use all means, including military force, to ensure the continued supply of oil.
Almost every year the US imports 53% of its total oil needs, and imports are expected
to continue to increase in the coming years, while the US need for oil to move its
economy into something absolute. And Iraq is a target for the US, since the beginning
of the "miracle" of Iraqi oil has attracted the interest of large countries, especially
Britain and America, to control this region. One example; Iraqi dependence will
Kirkuk and Mosul (two oil-source cities) used by the United States to seek support by
inciting Kurds to break away immediately from Iraq. It seems that American support
for the Kurds is more for reasons for oil concessions in the Kurdish region, especially
Kirkuk, to fall into the hands of American companies, such as Halliburton, Kellogg
Brown and Root, MCI World Com, etc. (some of these companies have signed billions
of dollars in contracts for Iraqi development) . Egyptian political and strategy analyst
TahaMajdub in an article in the Al-Ahram newspaper May 12, 2002 said: "the implicit
objective of the threat of the US attack on Iraq is Washington's desire to control oil in
the bay and Iraq". Likewise he likened the strategic objectives of the US attack to
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Afghanistan some time ago. According to him, the purpose of the US onslaught on
Afghanistan to subvert the power of the Taliban and eradicate the Al-Qaeda network
was only a trick of the United States, which implied behind it was to control the
Central Asian region and the oil-rich Caspian Sea and place its influence there.
Likewise, the US attack on Iraq, which they convinced to eradicate weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein's undemocratic government, but
what was implied behind that was to control Iraqi oil.
Still according to Mahdjub, if the US fully controls the Iraqi and Ku oil wells
wait (the amount will beat Saudi Arabian oil), then Washington will be in a stronger
position in dealing with other Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, and in turn can
dictate these Arab countries without fear of being interrupted by the flow of oil
supplies from the Middle East. It is very clear that the US attack on Iraq on the grounds
of possession of a weapon of mass destruction is a lie. During this time Iraq under the
leadership of Saddam Husein who was very anti-American, and received strong
support from most of his people turned out to make it difficult for America to get oil
concessions in the country.
C.CONCLUSION
From the description above, it can be concluded that the Middle East region
that has never been separated from political problems at the domestic, regional or
international scale, more precisely is always full and political surprises are born. The
potential geographical conditions are in reality not directly proportional to the
political comfort in this region starting from first. Even the tug-of-war between the
world powers in the Middle East continues to establish its hegemony until now.
Geographical strength which should be used as a regional political force is in fact the
realignment of the region's hostage, its significance and strategic geographical
conditions actually trigger various major problems. which automatically has a direct
impact on the existence of regional countries and quite influences the difficulty of
these regional countries, particularly Arab countries, to realize integration. Along with
the development of political geography discourse, there are things that need to be
reconstructed, the political geography of a country / region is no longer merely in
terms of strategic location and potential natural resource conditions, it will become a
boomerang if it is not accompanied by the development of a strong state / nation
character . Bearing this in mind, this is sometimes ruled out, so that the geographic
power possessed is easily exploited by other countries. The development of the
nation's character must be continuously managed and developed including the spirit
of patriotism, not betraying the nation itself, leaders with integrity, tolerance and
democracy, and have a vision to build mutual prosperity. The development of this
character should be the foundation for the development of concepts of political
geography in the future.
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