In the early 1910s, two men single-handedly decided the border of all the middle eastern countries. These men were named Mark Sykes (British) and Francois Georges-Picot (French). They both negotiated and came up with the border of the modern-day middle eastern countries like Turkey and Syria. While they intended for their borders to mostly include only one group within them, their vision had not been correct and the borders they constructed ended up causing havoc in the region. To this day there is rampant brutality in the way these countries are ruled, and differences are not allowed (Osman). There are many views of what to do in the region now and they range on both extremes, leaders don’t want their country to lose any part of their land, and groups like ISIS want the borders gone altogether (Danforth).
The brutality in the region is an unseen side effect of these men’s decisions. The biggest source of contention in the region arises from the Kurdish people. These people are one of the world’s largest non-state nations (Hiltermann). They have been fighting for their independence ever since the borders had been drawn, but things like Iran deploying forces to prevent them from leaving countries like Iraq has led this to become a major issue and the Kurds do not have much help. Instead, groups like ISIS are trying to get rid of all countries, tainting the image of what the Kurds are trying to do and leaders can use this to express how the Kurds’ mission is bad.
This decision to change the borders has strongly influenced what Persepolis is about, the brutality of the Middle East Region. This can be directly linked to how those two men thought the region should be split and how their flawed views of the region allowed the whole history to become what it has today. The good news is that there will eventually be change but it won’t come from the world forcing the region to become what it wants. The region needs to go through its struggles so that when the tension is completed, the whole region will be less divided.
Works Cited
Danforth, Nick. “The Middle East That Might Have Been.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 Dec. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/the-middle-east-that-might-have-been/385410/.
Hiltermann, Joost. “The Middle East in Chaos: Of Orders and Borders.” Crisis Group, International Crisis Group, 25 May 2018, www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/middle-east-chaos-orders-and-borders.
Osman, Tarek. “Why Border Lines Drawn with a Ruler in WW1 Still Rock the Middle East.” BBC News, BBC, 14 Dec. 2013, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25299553.
Hello Jacob, I really enjoyed reading your post. I found it very interesting that only two men decided many countries and millions of peoples’ fates. It would be very interesting to learn more about how exactly they determined each border and what their motivations were.
Hi Jacob. Thanks for this thoughtful context assignment. I liked how you pointed out that the two men who decided these borders were not people who lived in the area and how their separation from the issues they were decided on created havoc. I think this ties in really well with the themes of this semester and how people having control over things that don’t really impact them can be very harmful.
Hello, Jacob. This context presentation for Persepolis was very detailed and insightful. I was previously unaware that there were only two people involved in deciding the borders. I appreciate your incorporation of the history behind the start of conflict within the nations. This allows us to grasp a deeper understanding of the emotions of the citizens in these nations, such as Marjane Satrapi’s.
Hi Jacob, you did a great job on this context presentation. Before this post, I used to think that the conflicts in the middle eastern countries are mainly about Jerusalem, and never realize the border issues there. I’m really shocked that two men’s decision on the borders can lead to the limitless chaos in the middle eastern countries. And your background information helps a lot in understanding the relations between the reading and the course themes.
Hi Jacob, I really enjoyed reading your context presentation this week! I had no idea that the borders of all middle eastern countries were in the hands of only two men. I never actually thought how the borders were structured and its really shocking that there weren’t more people involved in this huge decision. I really wish growing up we learned more about how other countries were formed and the conflicts that rose because of it. I think it is important to understand the events that are happening in this world and the outcomes from those events.
Great context presentation post Jacob! Learning about how the borders of the middle eastern countries were from only two men was very interesting. The whole post was well written and intriguing to read. I like how Persepolis goes along with the theme of this course of how people can have such control over something.
Hi Jacob, nice work on your context presentation! Before I read this article, I think the main reason that causes the conflict between those middle eastern countries is because of different religions or unequally distributed resources. I have no idea how those two people’s decisions will make such a huge impact on that region. You introduce a very detailed background to me and help me understand what’s going on in that region.
I found this post to be very informative, as I was previously not aware of how the borders were drawn in the middle east. I find it hard to believe that just two people had so much power in decision making in regards to the Middle East. Especially when you consider that these two men were British and French! Knowing this helps me better understand the political environment of that region.
While reading this post allowed me to think more about the situation from a whole point of view than a certain point of it. What I mean by this would be cause and effect on how two men created borders to separate and this lead to each border causing its own style of havoc and ISIS coming in the mix of it all, wanting to unite them all together. This was all set into effect with Persepolis changing the borders to become united while places like Hitlermann wanting to be independent but with the situation occurring this is something that they have to solve all together because at the end of the day it is their land. This helps me understand more about the situation of the borders of others and wanting to be independent or united as a society in the end.
Hi Jacob, I appreciate your background information you’ve provided. This helped me have a better understanding of the atmosphere in the region. The ideas of the lands being divided by people who were not from the area without the consideration of the people who reside there. This puts the rationale in to why the people are in conflict. The ideas that there is separation to begin with causes and us and them situation.
Hi Jacob! Thank you for the information that you provided this week! I am so glad that I was able to read this before participating in discussions this week because I feel like the information about the brutality of the region during this time period makes the reading have more meaning and depth. I also think that the background about being connected to the current day of change being necessary and in the potential future is very uplifting!
Good work Jacob! I enjoyed reading your post, especially realizing how much power just two individuals had. I think it is so mind blowing that people allow for someone to have so much control even when they do not “know” them. I am also really curios in the idea similar to redistricting. I feel as if that could solve some issues although it may have potential problems. What do you think about the idea of re assigning borders?
Hi Jacob! This is an incredibly interesting post. I had no idea about Mark Sykes or Francois Georges-Picot and how they determined the middle eastern borders. I definitely learned a lot here. I think this is a good example of how forced influence of powerful countries, such as in imperialism and this instance of border determination, can have devastating effects on the countries being “influenced”.
Hi Jacob. Good job on your presentation! I had no idea that two people were entirely responsible for creating the borders of all of the middle eastern countries. It’s no surprise either that these two people were from imperialistic countries, which probably played a large role in this situation too. I feel like it would be a good idea for the leaders of these countries to come together and discuss possible border changes because of the constant violence and unrest in regions of these countries.
Hi Jacob, good job on your post! I can’t believe the fate regarding the borders for these countries was solely decided upon by only two people. And two people that did not even live in the area, at that. It’s so crazy to me how this was allowed by everybody else. I think you did a very good job on your post explaining the effect this had on the people and areas to this day!
Great job on your presentation Jacob. The information you presented was interesting and eye-opening as well. Knowing that two people were responsible essentially for the creation of the middle eastern countries is shocking. Knowing that they are not even from the region but wield the power to do what they did shows the inequity of imperialism.
Hi Jacob!
I enjoyed reading your presentation. I never knew that the tension in Syria today could be derived from these two men wrongly separating the region. I agree with your statement, that the world can not force a peace treaty upon two countries, and they will have to figure it out for themselves.
Hi Jacob! Good job, before reading your post I had no idea that such a massive decision was made by only two men. It’s hard to believe that this was allowed, and that the issue hasn’t been revisited. This helps me to understand why there seems to always be so much tension in this area of the world.
Hi Jacob, I really appreciate the context you’ve provided in this post. I think narratives surrounding middle eastern countries really miss this context. There is so much focus on the violence and unrest in the region without much indication as to why, and I think this needs to change. Information like this is very helpful to understand the pain that permeates in the region, and I thank you for helping me understand.
HI Jacob!
I really enjoyed reading your post. The background knowledge you provided for Persepolis will help me with the reading this week. I think it is crazy that even to this day, fights over the boarders are still present in the Middle East. I am thankful that the United States does not have such controversy over boarders. I never knew the extent to which the tension is in these countries over what a few men decided. It is crazy to think that these two men have caused so much pain and suffering. Hopefully the tension is solved soon!
Hi, Jacob. Thank you so much for helping me expand the background knowledge. To be honest, it is hard to understand some parts of the book without enough background information, since the middle east district was in a mees under the intervention of the western countries. After reading your post, I can understand the story of Persepolis much better now.
Thank you for the great presentation Jacob! This article really helped with my background knowledge of the Middle East, and it has been really helpful for the context of the novel. This helped me with understanding why Americans see the Middle East in a negative view, and why there seems to always be conflict in the region. With this in mind, it helps the reading of Persepolis because it always seemed Marjane had something to worry about that some other kids wouldn’t if they were raised in a different place.
Hey Jacob awesome post! The presentation was very well executed and I really liked you diving into the history of the Middle East in a way that truly shines a light on the area and gives a much better overall understanding of the topic and story of Persepolis. Boarder control is such an interesting topic and not something I feel like I understand living in the United States, but what you had wrote about really gave a clear understanding of the problem that area is facing. Great Job!
I have to praise your sharing, and at the same time I think it is very objective and deep. This also makes us think about some issues more deeply. For example, colonialism at that time, modern hegemonism and some extreme terrorist organizations are all very evil representatives. But if we look at it from the human point of view, we should save more people and seek systemic justice and democratic freedom for more people.
Very interesting Jacob! I’ve heard of issues among other countries and regions happen with this before, but not in the Middle East. It really shows how history repeats itself and these problems are all rooted from people being confined and separated. This helped me more in understanding the conflict, and where it is rooted! Thank you!