International Studies Compendium Project

Extract

Comment on this article   Since the nineteenth century, the Middle East's ethnic, religious, and linguistic heterogeneity has provided the basis for numerous nationalist movements. Some of these have come into conflict with states and majority populations, resulting in ethnic conflicts. Armenians, for example, fought against the Ottoman state in the later nineteenth century, which led to their mass expulsion. The right of autonomy has been claimed by Kurdish nationalist movements in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran since the early twentieth century. In each country, the ongoing ethnic conflicts led to forced migrations and internal displacement. The Jewish nationalist movement that emerged in Europe led to similar consequences for another Middle Eastern society. The creating of a Jewish homeland in 1948 led to the dispersal of Palestinians, who became the largest refugee population in the world. Migration flows to and from the Middle East have been intertwined with nationalist movements and ethnic conflicts. Migration is a crucial component in the political processes of the region, being both prime mover and consequence. However, these relations have received little attention. The primary focus of the existing scholarship on nationalism in the region has came from history, concentrating mostly on Arab nationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century ( Haim 1962 ; Cleveland ... log in or subscribe to read full text