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THE CAIRO CONFERENCE 1921: THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST GETS BORN

 

 

A review essay, based on the book, Cairo 1921: Ten Days that Made the Middle East, by C. Brad Faught[1]

- by Jamie Arbuckle for Peacehawks.

 

 

There is a tide in the affairs of men …

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 4/3, 218-224

 

INTRODUCTION

 The First World War might be called the War to End All Empires: The German, the Hapsburg, the Czarist and the Ottoman Empires were all utterly in ruins; the tattered British and French Empires were to stagger on through (but not far beyond) the next World War.  Those two remaining empires thought to see to the re-ordering of the world left by those expired empires, principally in Europe and the Middle East. The former had been the focus of the Versailles Treaties; the latter was to be undertaken by the British and the French.  We have now lived over a century with the failures of both.

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The Greek War of Independence 1821-1829: The Birth of International Humanitarian Intervention

 

A book  review essay based on The Greek Revolution 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe, by Mark Mazower, pub. Allen Lane, 2021.

 Jamie Arbuckle for Peacehawks

Introduction

Last year was the bicentenary of the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence. As the war lasted until 1829, we will be observing many more such anniversaries in the next few years and, as though we were able to witness the birth of an ancient star, so we will, if we are looking closely, be able to revisit the birth of modern Europe. But if we look still more closely at that decade of two hundred years ago, we may see much more: the emergence of public opinion as a force in political affairs, and we will see also the birth of humanitarian  relief agencies as significant actors.  Moreover we may see how such intervention became a major contribution to conflict management in our times.

Mark Mazower has written an outstanding book of near contemporary history. The book is highly and meticulously detailed, and is yet an enjoyable read.  Those new to this material will be engaged and challenged; those with some familiarity with Greece will be delighted and refreshed by this book.

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