Imperialism vs. Colonialism and How They Affect the Middle East

Many people view the Middle East as a confused and unsettled area, but when imperialism and colonialism are brought into the equation, this makes the area look more different from the rest of the world. There are parts of the Middle East with deep religious roots and other parts that seem more interested in practicing concepts that would benefit their economy. Understanding how each element affects the area may depend on how you view each of them within the society of the government and people who live in this area.

The Middle East became known for being one of the world’s top oil producers. The country sought strategies to help them be more profitable during earlier days of oil producing. Imperialism in earlier days may have led to periods of unrest with other nations. Conflict would come about regarding how oil was accessed and by whom, even though there were neighboring areas that helped fund a canal that would be built to help access the oil. Relationships with other areas such as North Africa and Southern Asia were important but were later dominated by Europe.

There was a balance shift in power that occurred in the 1400s. Muslims had occupied the area for years but part of the conflict came when the country did not want to continue investing in a war. This created a number of events that followed including area countries developing their own military and other ways to protect their trade such as minerals a country would produce. This created somewhat of a domino effect in the years to come throughout the Mediterranean Sea. At one point a war started between two areas but each side really didn’t know what they were doing, except they knew they needed to protect what was theirs.

Relations with nations in this area seem somewhat cloudy. There are minerals and things that are used to help people survive but countries at the same time have been greedy and selfish. The Middle East has had a long history with conflict and some of it has to do with religious beliefs aside from economic ideas that have yet to get off the ground. The area seems to make strides toward increasing economic growth to their benefit, but others still cannot imagine how so much unjust makes an area full of tension that seems to have never gone away.