The Middle East’s New Map

Humans are fond of categories, and the Middle East has long been subject to such analysis: nations that align with one power or another, nations with wealth or without, nations that function and those that don’t. But boundaries designated by people are not so distinct, argues analyst Mark Perry. Arbitrary lines that created nations of the Middle East in 1919 did not put an end to sectarian differences nor encourage citizens to embrace modernity. Still, Perry labels “resistance to American hegemony as the first truly global and connected political movement in human history.” Citizens of states that are deemed poor, undeveloped and dysfunctional may have found a cause, rejecting borders and categories, embracing principles of interconnection and globalization in a way that citizens of secure nations cannot. – YaleGlobal