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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS: RE-ASSERTIVE NATIONALISM OR WAR 

 
Okechukwu, Groupson-Paul UC. PhD 

groupsonpaul@yahoo.com , okechukwu.groupson@funai.edu.ng 

Department of Political Science 

Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), 

Abakaliki – Ebonyi State, Nigeria 

 

Agboola, Olugbenga Abiodun 

Department of Political Science and International Relations, 

Caleb University, Imota. Lagos State 

 

Abstract 

The Middle East, a region of several conflicts, diplomatic intrigues, problematic peace 

engagement, terror thriving enclave, where the restive Islamic states with discontent are weighed 

down by the intimidating influences of outside power. For being Aware that Al Qaeda has 

outlived its usefulness; that most Arab states are overwhelmed, dominated and suppressed by 

Israel; that Arab-Spring was meant to do away with Monarchism to Western democracy; that 

foreign policy of the Middle East were never theirs; that the economy is determined from outside; 

and aware that in no distant time the region might be a pro-Western sphere. Poised by this hocus-

pocus demistyism, the Islamic Jihadist terrorism is revealed to re-assert nationalism course 

towards reclaiming the Middle East.  This study, situated on political conflict and nationalism 

theory, utilizes secondary data and analytical approach. The study notes that in re-asserting 

common consciousness, the West and its allies within must be tackled. The study observed that 

terrorism, a severe mechanism, has become the fastest bait to expressing pains. It revealed the 

negative actions of the Jihadist in reclaiming their land and prosperity. The study suggests that 

orderliness in conflict, a possible panacea to the Middle East conflicts be adopted.     

 

Keyword: Conflict, Terrorism, Islamic States, Nationalism, Diplomatic Intrigues and 

Interventionist 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Arguably, the consciousness of oneness, 

common belief, common identity, 

common language and common feelings 

among others are the basic attributes of 

nationalism. Although, in recent time, 

these ideas have not only been broken or 

destroyed but had been tenaciously 

overtaken by several impediments. This 

ranges from the drive for power, wealth 

and riches; the growth of technology and 

new markets; the drive of neo-

democracy and possible re-colonization 

of states and; the effects of globalization 

and climate change among others, which 

are new paradigm in the international 

politics and governance of states. 

 

Nationalism and nationalist drive, 

though, in the old were said to be subtle 

to some extent while in some, it was 

rebellious and violent affront against the 

masters. It was a great movement that 

ended several great empires like the 

 

mailto:groupsonpaul@yahoo.com
mailto:okechukwu.groupson@funai.edu.ng


 

 

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Roman, Byzantine, British, Persia and 

Ottoman empires among others. It 

possibly helped also to vanquish great 

powers after the Westphalia treaty of 

1648. Nationalism struggle also took the 

dimension of non-violent approach to 

freedom in some regions of the world, 

just as it also led to the fragmentation of 

several nation states.  

 

However, the Middle East unlike Africa, 

South America and Eastern Europe is 

seen as the centre of world politics and 

politicking in recent time owing to its 

geography, resources hob, economic 

centrality and being the most tensed 

region of the world, several conflicts, 

diplomatic intrigues and power struggles 

have made the region and her youths 

restive. This region, with long years of 

conflict records in the presence of 

western influence and dominance could 

be said to know no peace as long as the 

interest of the former refuses to change, 

reduce and/or withdraw. 

 

The west’s continued interference in the 

governance of the region away from the 

initial economic control was very 

glaring. It also helped to lightened up 

like a wild fire in 2011 the zealous 

spread of neo-democracy, which sent a 

dangerous signal to the indigenes and 

occupants of Middle East that neo-

democracy, globalization and western 

technology if completely accepted 

means that their fate had been sealed and 

seceded to the new colonization projects 

of the west. Hence, the probable re-

thoughts of the emerging new order of 

the Islamic States terrorism to querying 

such western driven agendas in Middle 

East are not far-fetched. 

 

The Islamic States terrorists probably 

while querying the drastic weighing 

down of the Middle East power of 

bargain as due to the intimidating 

influence and power of the west on their 

region’s politics and government, also 

admittedly argued that Al Qaeda and 

other militant groups has outlived their 

usefulness; coupled with the 

domineering and suppressing presence 

of Israel; and to the obvious fact that the 

Middle East economy are being 

determined from outside the region 

among others, therefore propping up 

terrorism as the fastest means of being 

heard. Terrorism, a violent means used 

to create fear for political, religious and 

ideological reasons also provokes 

consciousness while evoking certain 

feelings of sympathy and revulsion. To 

seemly suggest that if nothing is 

urgently done by the Arabs, that the 

region might be heading towards a 

rebirth as it might be overtaken by new 

colonization, new religion, new 

socialization and new culture. This, thus 

might have informs the need for them to 

either re-assert their nationalism or 

probably if possible, fight the course of 

reclaiming their land, resources and 

wealth and independence from the west 

as their ultimate goal. 

 

Premised on this, the study evaluates the 

international dimension of the Middle 

East problems hinged on the stated 

theories, the role of Arab springs acting 

as an eye-opener, the emergent of the 



 

 

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Islamic states of Iraq Sunni terrorism 

course and or the process of re-asserting 

Arabs nationalism in the Middle East.  

 

THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE 

WEST: THE INTERNATIONAL 

DIMENSIONS OF THE PROBLEM 

Interestingly, scholars had come to 

accept the contention that Middle East is 

not a country, not a continent, has no set 

border, but a land east of Europe, North-

East of Africa, West of India and China. 

That is, the land whose heart stretches 

from Egypt in North East of Africa to the 

countries of South Western Asia and 

East of Europe. It is the land in the 

middle of Asia, Africa and Europe with 

a well of over 98% Arab dominance 

(Mahan, 1902). 

 

The West itself, that is, European and 

American continents are central to the 

politics of Middle East. This has become 

their most valued strategic importance in 

the world politics. The relationship 

between both had created a huge 

political intrigues, hiccups, problems 

and unsettled diplomatic interactions 

that had greatly affected the world 

politics and government (Sloan, 2006). 

The dynamism of this problematic 

hiccups had consistently and continually 

kept the world political actors, 

economists and risk takers among others 

in a constant motion, dialogue and 

debates of what peace in the Middle East 

meant to all, especially in the period 

where according to Brooke and Arny 

(2009), the international political 

economists are raising questions on the 

issues of globalization, trade 

liberalization, investment opportunities, 

markets capitalization, human capital 

friendliness and sustainable democracy 

that could aid opening up of states, 

regions and the global society, to which 

the Middle East are dwarf of, thereby 

leaving much to be desired in terms of 

stability and relative peace. 

 

Although, the early contact contrast the 

period of colonization and independence 

as war of empireonic occupation and 

issues of the Eastern questions among 

others was settled in 1929 and thereafter. 

According to Karsh (2000), what had 

helped the issues to linger on was the 

subsisting interest of the West in the 

Middle East, which might have 

contributed to arouse the spate of tension 

and volatile nature of the region. A 

course that has been challenged 

severally with waves of nationalism 

struggle. This, precipitated by the role of 

Britain in the 1940s, France and United 

States in the period leading to cold war 

and thereafter, to this day have not 

helped matter in the region (Stockton, 

2011). It is imperative therefore to note 

that right from the period of economic 

determinacy and conflict of alliance, that 

there has been a long existing feud in the 

Middle East between the West and the 

Arab world. A quarrel that Pan-Arabism 

had adopted to eliminate the trace of 

western imperialism (Karsh, 2000). This 

study thus, not surprise in the words of 

Al-Mukarramah (2001), that scholars 

are even confused as to what could be 

the subtle way of ameliorating this great 

threat, great hates, great disagreement 

and unsettled political and economic 



 

 

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clandestinism of the actors that the 

world is witnessing today in that region. 

 

Evidence available has revealed that the 

United States interest in the Middle East 

is prime. It also informed how all the 

other European States’ interest has been 

subsumed into the American interest. 

These states like Britain, France, Japan 

and others are meant to key-in towards 

maintaining their perpetual alliance with 

the former while exploring the region. 

 

Exceptions was however, seen in the 

period preceding the cold war era as 

postulated by Magnus (2006), that the 

politics of Middle East assumed 

different dimension when oil was 

discovered in the arid desert at the period 

prior to the struggle for independence in 

the 1930s and 1950s respectively and to 

which since then the region knew no 

peace. Added to this, Karsh (2000) aptly 

revealed that the United States is the top 

consumer of energy in the world. And 

back then in 1970s, the United States 

needed sources on where to find its 

energy. The Middle East such as Saudi 

Arabia and the UAE had the oil at the 

time. These two countries were also oil 

producing states and part of the Southern 

Nations. The U.S in turn wanted to do 

business with these people whether they 

wanted or not. Thereby, agreeing with 

the assertion of Pipes (2015) that since 

the World War II, that the Persian Gulf 

region had been proclaimed to be the 

national interest of the United States due 

to oil deposit and proven oil reserves. 

 

In the same continuum, Benji (2012), 

argued that the U.S. involvement in the 

Middle East oil business in the 20th 

century was because of the industrial 

requirement, and because the Middle 

East oil, especially around the Persian 

Gulf was very cheap to extract. The U.S 

interest in the Middle East did not only 

projects its entire interest but it also 

double in protecting the interest of its 

allies such as Britain, France, Japan and 

all other European nations that chat its 

course of capitalist – democracy away 

from the outdated monarchy – sit – tight 

rules in the Middle East either in war or 

peace. 

 

However, against the U.S making its 

intension known in the period of cold 

war, the rivalry with the USSR in the 

region also took centre stage. Shlaim 

(1996), in this respect noted that the 

western powers in exploring the Middle 

East did not only divide the indigenous 

people but created a great rivalry among 

themselves to which the Arab States 

sheepishly followed without 

questioning. This feature did not only 

account for the interest and rivalry that it 

has evoked but for the whole of 20th 

century, the Middle East was at their 

separately avowed geopolitical-strategic 

importance with its oil being fingered. 

He further contended that the western 

powers involvement was not a unique 

feature but one that affects in varying 

degrees all region of the world. What 

distinguished the Middle East from the 

rest is the intensity, pervasiveness and 

profound impact of this rate of 

involvement. That is to say that the 



 

 

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Middle East was terribly caught up in the 

western powers rivalries that it started 

affecting them, inspired them and 

nurtured them into violence. 

 

Moreover, in a separate continuum, 

Stockton (2011), argued that apart from 

the western powers interest in the 

Middle East, which their continual 

support, sponsor and protection of the 

Israeli statehood and their economic 

interest to their dismay is absurd. An 

intent that Shlaim (1996), did not only 

frowned at but sees the effect as due to 

the interest of the western powers in the 

Middle East, and the treatment and 

declaration of Israel as the Most 

Favoured Nation (MFN) over the Arab 

nations, which indeed ignites and 

intensified the crisis between Israel and 

the Arabs. The Arab states are noted to 

have subscribed to the ideal of Arab 

unity but in practice inter-Arab relations 

are characterized more by conflicts than 

co-operation, thereby making Israel to 

be widely held to be one of the few solid 

pillars propping up Arab unity. This is 

because the Arabs seems to largely agree 

and united in opposing Israel and her 

allies, but at the operational level, they 

are deeply divided within themselves, 

thereby helping to increase the western 

interest aggregations against their 

overall weakness. In admitting to this, 

Pipes (2003), aptly revealed that there is 

foreign direct control of the economy of 

the Middle East from outside due to the 

level of instability and incoherency 

among the Arabs. 

 

In attesting to this observation, Paul 

(2012), further argued that the U.S. 

motives in the Gulf is their foreign 

policy – economic actualization. 

Although, it does not make them (U.S) 

safer, but it is a clear indication that the 

U.S involvement in foreign territories 

such as the Middle East is evidence of 

America’s imperialistic foreign policy 

ideology. Meaning that, the search for 

oil money and exploration was adopted 

as a ploy to finger several of the states of 

the Middle East directly or indirectly. 

This, also suggestively agreed with the 

U.S – three cold war doctrines (the 

Truman Doctrine, the Eisenhower 

Doctrine and Nixon Doctrine) 

formulated and states inter alia: ‘that the 

U.S would use military force if 

necessary to defend its national interest 

in the Persian Gulf region. A manoeuvre 

that has not only set the Arabs against 

the West since then, but had also aroused 

and inspired the people of Middle East, 

especially the youths to chat a new 

course of Islamic radicalism and 

terrorism towards eliminating the 

Western imperialists. 

 

Away from these contentious issues, the 

investigation presupposes to mean that 

there are several other issues informing 

the current trend in the Arab – Middle 

East politics. On one hand is the level of 

dislocation, distortion, decimation, 

denial and deprivations, to which the 

inhabitants had accused the West of 

perpetuating with devious betrayal of 

trust, thereby prompting their desires to 

take what rightfully belong to them – the 

oil and wealth of Middle East at all cost. 



 

 

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The other, being the re-igniting of the 

Pan-Arabism ideology that is directly 

linked to Arab nationalism. A movement 

that is trying to reclaim their lands while 

clearing the area of anything imperial on 

the context of re-asserting their common 

nationalism. 

 

THE THEORETICAL ARGUMENT 

The objective of this paper is to discuss 

the complex nature of the current trends 

of event in the Middle East, that is, the 

sudden appearance of the Islamic States 

of Iraq Sunni and Al sham (ISIS) against 

the elites and western powers. The 

questioning of the latter’s long 

occupation of the Middle East and the 

long appropriations of the wealth vis-à-

vis the ongoing conflict in the broad 

contexts of conceptual and theoretical 

postulations. The focus is, therefore, to 

probe whether the current events in the 

Middle East is a course of people trying 

to reclaim their homeland and its 

abundant wealth from the Western 

imperialists presumed second – 

colonization (using Neo-democracy) or 

a case of re-assertive nationalism hidden 

under religious totem of Islamic 

radicalism to fight the common enemy 

and its allies – the Western imperialist or 

both.  In the light of this, two theories are 

examined:  

 

 a). THEORY OF POLITICAL 

CONFLICT                                                                

Conflict, according to Boulding (1962) 

is an activity that is found almost 

everywhere in the world of man.  

Amongst all the categories of conflicts, 

political conflict seems to be most 

devastating and destructive, both in idea 

and actions. Dahl (1987) asserted that 

conflicts arise as a result of many 

factors, including struggle for power and 

privileges, and differences in social 

status. Such social status as economics 

class, income, wealth, position and 

occupation counts. In essence, conflict is 

a situation of competition, in which the 

parties are aware of the incompatibility 

of future positions.  

 

According to Coser (1967), conflict 

occurs among individuals, group, 

organizational interest and states alike. It 

can lead to clash among actors, resulting 

to death, owing to its violent nature.   

  

Laue (1990) postulated that conflict is a 

natural and inevitable part of all human 

social relationship.  It is the escalated, 

natural competition between two or 

more parties about scarce resources, 

power and prestige.  Parties in conflict 

believe they have incompatible goals 

and their aim is to neutralize, gain 

advantage over, injure or destroy one 

another. Conflict is a social 

phenomenon, and is multi-faceted, very 

beneficial and also destructive. 

  

To Scimecca (1990), theory of conflict 

explains human behaviour in terms of 

self-interest, and the perpetuation of the 

social order by the organized coercion of 

certain groups over other groups.  

Deutsch (1990) argued that conflict can 

be positive.  Thus, he noted that conflict 

has many positive functions; it prevents 

stagnation, it stimulates interest and 

curiosity.  It is the medium through 



 

 

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which problems can be aired and 

solution arrived at.  It is the root of 

personal and social change.    

  

In another realm, Banks (1996) 

contended that conflict is both inevitable 

and necessary.  It is inevitable, because 

both people and groups have basic 

needs, expressed in society through 

competing values, clashing in order to 

provide the catalyst for development. 

Without which life is meaningless. He 

submitted that conflict can be functional, 

but that its functional benefits can 

sometimes be accompanied by 

dysfunctional costs: hostility, rigidity, 

violence and destruction. 

  

Thus, going by the above contentions, 

conflicts could be said to be 

multifaceted; with the frequency and 

regularity extremely high. Simply 

because, incompatible goals and over 

exploitations combined with frustration 

and deprivation has generated conflicts, 

to which no region of the world is free of 

major conflicts as the level of insecurity, 

instability and chaos are also abnormally 

high, particularly in the Middle East.  

Consequently, the examined sequences 

of cases and events in the area of study 

showed that several crises had 

bedevilled the Middle East Region, 

thereby justifying the adopted theory.   

 

b). THEORY OF NATIONALISM 

This study also adopts the Theory of 

Nationalism among the several theories 

that this study is linked to. It informs and 

tends to partly dictate the pace of events 

in the Middle East crisis. The 

importance of which also partly explains 

the root of the struggle. Scholars of this 

school have argued that Nationalism 

arises in response to a condition of 

society and at a particular stage in its 

development. To them, Nationalism 

involves a strong identification of a 

group of individuals with a political 

entity defined in national terms, that is, a 

nation. 

 

To this effect, Gellner (1993), opined 

that nationalism is centered on collective 

identities. This includes the sovereignty 

possess by the state, the territorial unit, 

creed of loyalty within the 

consciousness of the nation in the minds 

of the people amongst others, that may 

equally form in part, some of the factors 

that informed the unique aspirations. In 

support of this notion, Oldenquist 

(1997), reiterated that nationalism 

focuses on the attitude of a member of a 

nation when they care about their 

national identify. This is because it is the 

collectivism of the identities acting as a 

force that binds them towards common 

aspiration. 

 

In furtherance to this, Yuval-Davies 

(1997), posits that nationalism in a wider 

sense is any complex attitudes, claims 

and directives for action ascribing a 

fundamental political, moral and cultural 

values to nation and nationality and 

deriving obligations from this ascribed 

values. Meaning that nationalism varies 

both in conception of a nation and deals 

with common feelings of the people, 

common identity amongst the people 

and the enabling zeal of achieving a 



 

 

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particular desire as deemed right within 

the consciousness of the people. In the 

same manner, Coleman (1965), argued 

that nationalism is the consciousness of 

belonging to a nation or a nationality. 

For the inspiration; and aspiration goes 

between a desire as manifest in 

sentiment and activity, which helps to 

maximize its political autonomy. 

 

Premised on this, the ongoing crisis in 

the Middle East is occasioned by the 

Pan-Arab Islamic States of Iraq Sunni 

ethnic group and others against the West 

and some Arab elites. It is evident that 

the bond inspiring these various actions 

and movement is the common Arab 

nationalism. 

 

The actions and activities of these 

groups however, throw up two basic 

arguments of whether their action are in 

the course of trying to reclaim their land 

and wealth under the Western sphere of 

influence or that this nationalistic 

movement are meant to re-assert their 

nationalism towards upholding their 

values against the long years of western 

balkanization, exploitation, distortion, 

dislocation and destruction of values and 

so on. In view of this problematic issue, 

the following questions are better posed 

as against the swollen number of 

recruitment and volunteers among 

others, who had joined the struggle: 

could one vividly accept that this groups 

are on course to reclaiming, restoring 

and re-asserting their values in the 

region against any hindrance, denial, 

deprivation and abject exploitation? 

What could have motivated the terrorist 

in engendering in such actions? Is there 

any particular passion attached to their 

present actions or could it be a 

nationalistic drive and what could have 

made them to vibrate emotionally? Why 

have the Sunni people felt that their 

nationalism is as important as to 

determine and dictating for the rest of 

Middle East States? With the already 

existed division within the Arab world, 

what is the fate of other ethnic groups 

like the Kurdish, Shite, the Shia and 

others who had not keyed into the course 

of ISIS? Can this struggle and the crisis 

in the Middle East be both a course of 

driving away the western powers on one 

hand and also a juxtaposition to re-

asserting their nationalistic values on the 

others? Is the action of the terrorists not 

a burden by way of negative implication 

in reclaiming their land, values and 

properties? Finally, could terrorism as 

currently been displayed by the ISIS be 

seen as the fastest bait to expressing pain 

or a weep-up sentiment of the group 

under common consciousness to 

tackling the west? 

 

THE ARAB SPRING AND THE 

PARADOX OF CHANGE 

The Arab spring, a political nickname of 

the western neo-democratic campaign 

movement in the Middle East, that was 

widely seen as a water shed event which 

has irrevocably changed the region and 

global political landscape and led to the 

seismic shift in the social contract 

governing the relationship between Arab 

ruling elites and their population.  

Started from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, 

Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, 



 

 

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Yemen and Syria among others in 2011, 

the effect of the changes on state 

governance between the old sit-tight 

monarchism or dynastic elite rulers and 

the youthful Arab-Western educated and 

enlightened apologists, to which their 

sponsors were not openly known as 

compared to the western media who 

campaigned and discusses the fingered 

enemies. At the peak of the crisis 

particularly in Libya, Gadhafi was 

accused of firing at his people from the 

air. An allegation that Robert Gates and 

Marshal Mike Mullen in 2011 could not 

substantiate.  Instead, the speculations 

were noted to have started from the 

Western Media (Okechukwu, 2012). A 

contrasting and contradicting scenario 

that prompted Kevin (2011), to argue 

that the western press, especially the 

BBC, CNN and the French media must 

be commended for helping to set Libya 

ablaze with the kind of falsehood and 

information misgivings that they fed 

their war marshals in the air conditioned 

offices, who knew nothing and saw 

nothing happening in Libya. 

 

On the other hand, the West, though, 

inspired by the peoples’ action, believes 

that since democratic change is 

synonymous to the rising of the masses 

against a tyrant, that Arab spring, which 

came overnight displayed a considerable 

hope for the best to come in the region 

(Pipes, 2015), without knowing the end 

product in the long run; whether a 

positive light or darkest dawn awaits the 

people as being experienced today. To 

further this notion, Busari (2015), states 

in affirmative that it is evidence that 

democracy remains elusive and fragile 

even in the best of circumstances. The 

Arab states not speared could be seen 

engulfed in a deadly struggle between 

the old elites and some version of 

Islamic radicalist with sectarian irritant, 

making matters worse where the ruling 

elites are also an ethnic or religious 

minority against the course of the 

formers.  

 

Although, agreeing that in the fourth 

year running that while the spirit of Arab 

springs still hover over Syria and 

Yemen, that the darkest days 

experienced in the above mentioned 

states has pulled into the door of abyss 

with the entire Levant on fire, making 

the expected change to snowballed into 

a new theatre of terrorism. Hence, with 

the armed-twists of Arab democracy, it 

is abundantly clear that Arab democracy 

remains a very distant prospect. For we 

know that there can never be democracy 

without democrats and a modicum of 

law and order. 

 

Against the absence of these few 

itemized issues, coupled with the 

gradual demise of Al-Qaeda and other 

militant groups, to which even some die-

hard Al-Qaeda loyalist were recruited 

and co-opt to fighting the Arab elites in 

the days of Arab spring as noted in the 

case of Libya where Muktar Al-Akhdar 

and others were used by the West against 

Mamman Gadhafi at Benghazi (Global 

Security Consultancy, 2011), the new 

fighters, new blood, new hopes for the 

Arabs felt something is missing that 

might create gap against the future, 



 

 

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hence the need to challenge the West 

who Cruz live with victory becomes a 

cogent issue. The paradox of change as 

projected by the Arab spring initiators 

within its salient observation and 

articulation might have further inferred 

that probably the total acceptance of the 

ideals of pro-western neo-democracy 

might have caused the drift. The 

opposite of the self-imposed doom as 

anticipated might have led to the new 

struggle against the west and its allies 

and possibly the re-asserting of their 

nationalist values with the creation of 

total Pan-Arabism against the West and 

its second colonization of the region. 

This being the best thing that could 

happen and also pave way for Western 

powers retreats. 

 

Seemingly, the West might have 

nurtured and believed that the paradox 

of change from the sit-tight monarchs 

and despots to neo-democracy would 

have quickened the re-colonization of 

the people but opposite has been the 

case. The irritant youths’ activities have 

shown the existence of the opposite 

coupled with the non- disarming of the 

Youths, which has become one of the 

undoing of the initiators of the change. 

Today, the muscle of the guns had been 

turned against the suppliers, sponsors 

and motivators of the change mantra. 

The ISIS fighters, standing the 

accusation of desecration, distortion, 

destruction and imperialist discontent in 

the Middle East has shown that the 

mantra was used to oust the hate regimes 

and enemies of the west. The only 

difference being that they spear nobody, 

not even man, woman and children to 

the course. 

 

MIDDLE EAST AND THE RE-

ASSERTIVE OF NATIONALISM 

Nationalism, which is the love of a 

country that is not yet your own… a 

country that one feel is being occupied 

or oppressed by another national group, 

is however, not new to the people of 

Middle East. This is because, according 

to Choueiri (2000), Karsh (2006), Gocek 

(2002) and Dawisha (2002), the Middle 

East has experienced some waves of 

nationalism. The first being the 20th 

century nationalism, to which period 

nationalism serves as a driving force in 

the world affairs; because nationalism 

fuelled political conflicts around the 

globe from the Middle East to the rest. 

Their second experience, however, came 

at the end of World War II. A period at 

which Asian and African people 

demanded national self-determination 

leading to the rise of revolts against the 

European colonial masters. What drove 

these revolts against colonialism was the 

desire of the people to be ruled by 

member of their own national groups, 

rather than strangers of another race, 

religion or ethnicity. The third wave of 

nationalism experienced by the people 

of Middle East was what Hinnebusch 

(2003) identified as due to the collapse 

of the last major European Empires of 

USSR, Yugoslavia and Satellite States, 

to which some states of Middle East are 

directly or indirectly connected to. 

 

However, agreeing that nationalism 

asserts a claim to territory on behalf of 



 

 

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one national group that may be resisted 

by another group that believes it has an 

equal right to be there. A question being 

raised here is do the inhabitants of 

Middle East believe they are one 

people? Is what divided them not 

stronger than what brings them together? 

Are they in any way, people of the same 

nationality? Is the Arabs a nation? Can 

language and religion alone qualify them 

to project self as a nation or nationals of 

Middle East? 

 

Critically examining the above raised 

questions in line to the view of Karsh 

(2002), that there is not and has never 

existed an Arab nation. And that what 

occurs is the clever play to harness 

popular support to the quest for regional 

mastery by successive Middle East 

dynasties, regimes and rulers alike. It is 

also obvious in this regard to argue that 

the goal of unifying all the Arab states at 

present may not only be a failure due to 

one, the level of penetration of the West 

in the region is unquantifiable; two, it 

seems that the whole issues had been 

politically motivated toward attaining a 

goal without considering other 

disadvantages. Following the fact that 

Arab nationalism had continued to be a 

proposition, to which the proponents and 

the propounded ideas are diluted by 

parochial concerns… making Arab 

nationalism to be in deep eclipse (Karsh, 

2002). 

 

On the other hand, according to Dawisha 

(2002) and Karsh (2006), if a nation is a 

group of people sharing such attributes 

as common descent, language, culture, 

tradition, common feelings, religion, 

common consciousness and history, 

then nationalism is the desire of such a 

group for self-determination in the 

specific territory that they consider to be 

their patrimony. But in the case of the 

people of Middle East, the only common 

denominator is the language and the 

religion, whereas in all other things they 

are divided and different, thereby 

informing that their clave for 

nationalism might be standing on 

falsehood or otherwise. 

 

Sincerely looking at it from the point of 

view of falsehood, the supporting 

contention of Dawisha (2002) and 

Gocek (2003), which states inter alia that 

in nationalism, history is often falsified 

and even fabricated to serve a nationalist 

political agenda might be the case of 

those trying to forge Arab nationalism, 

which also explain its degree of 

weakness and wavering support of ideas. 

Then the questions to ascertain and or 

agreeing that Arab nations does not 

accept or recognized the divisions of 

whatever nature is in their midst, to 

which it has been subjected to becomes 

contentious, especially, when truly there 

was no strong Arab nationalism in those 

three stages mentioned earlier above. 

Against this prevailing contradictions, 

Pipes (1987), further argued that since 

there is no Arab nation yet that the 

people of Middle East may have an 

intention to be one but that does not 

mean that it is already in existence; that 

the Arabs might have the intent of 

integrating into a much larger entity 

comprising all the Arab nations but it is 



 

 

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still a proposed hope; that they hope to 

building a state that will eventually 

comprise all Arabic speaking nations 

never means that it has existed. 

 

Querying the issues of intent and hope as 

displayed by the Arab nations, can one 

say that it might be due to the lack of 

unity and the force to drive home their 

intentions in the international system 

that informed the current ISIS offensive 

in bringing into being the expected Arab 

nationalism, because going by the word 

of Raufitab (2015), one of the primary 

goals of the Arabs and possibly Arab 

nationalism is the end of western 

influence in the Middle East, seen as a 

nemesis of Arab strength and the 

removal of those Arab government 

considered to be dependent upon 

western powers, to which the ISIS is 

presently tackling. The ISIS trying to re-

assert nationalistic agenda of the people 

might be the new drive for Arab 

nationalism. This is because 

nationalistic movement have an in-built 

tendency towards extremism and 

xenophobia, self-righteousness on the 

one hand and demonizing the enemy on 

the other. And this is exactly what the 

ISIS seems to have stand for and 

equalling perpetuating since its 

emergence. 

 

To stand on this observation that the 

ISIS might have existed to re-assert 

Arab nationalism following the crisis in 

the Middle East since 2011, by contrast, 

had shown that the Arab spring has also 

forced the western policy makers to pay 

more attention to Arab secular politics 

instead of the usual writing off of secular 

political parties that might want to assert 

themselves. In the real sense the ISIS in 

trying to re-assert Arab nationalism has 

provoked anger and frustration 

throughout the Arab world owing to the 

manner of approach. The West on the 

other hand has acknowledged the rapid 

growth of Arab nationalist feeling 

among the Arab population, to which 

large segment of them saw the events as 

a valiant struggle against their 

imperialist outpost. The issue now is 

how can only Sunni project whip-up 

sentiment to attract Arab nationalism in 

a whole or could this struggle be said to 

have gone beyond Arab nationalism that 

is religiously camouflaging as a joint 

effort in expelling the western 

imperialist and its allies from the Middle 

East. 

 

THE EMERGENT OF ISLAMIC 

STATES AND THE WAR IN THE 

MIDDLE EAST: A COURSE OR RE-

ASSERTIVE NATIONALISM 

The war in middle East as occasioned by 

the emergence of Islamic states of Iraq 

Sunni and Al.Sham (ISIS), though, a 

violent problematic course surpassing 

all other violent groups has also come to 

be the central rallying point of all other 

Neo-militant groups opposed to both 

national and western powers influence in 

the region.  This fast growing violent 

movement with its unprecedented 

strength had helped to raise questions of 

whether such actions are probably a 

course of war aimed at driving away the 

western exploiters, the occupants of 

middle East or a drive meant to re-assert 



 

 

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the middle East ideology of nationalism 

that had never been attained since the 

period of Eastern questions? 

           

Although, if the course had been a 

complete Sunni – nationalism 

movement for the rallying of the Sunni 

nationals alone then, the action could be 

termed a Sunni agenda in the middle 

East but the movement being diluted 

with massive recruitment from the Arab 

– tribe and ethnic groups tends to 

portend danger for the Arab world and 

her relationship with outside world, 

particularly the West. 

          

According to Adnan and Reese (2015), 

the ISIS is an anti-government group; 

initially, a Sunni insurgent group that 

existed after the fall of Saddam Hussein.  

The protest was against the decline and 

exclusion of the Sunni nationality from 

the Iraq government since 2009.  But 

they became stronger and emerged after 

the fall of Mosul in June 2014 against 

the U.S backed government to the 

militant opposition. 

               

Complimenting this assertion, Okereke 

(2015), revealed that the Sunni, 

immediately after the demise of Saddam 

Hussein felt marginalized and 

dominated by the Shia, Shite and 

Kurdish, thereby propping up the 

protest.  The Sunni militant and later the 

Islamic states of Iraq Sunni and al sham 

was meant to carve out a separate 

caliphate. A course they can only 

achieve by camouflaging under religious 

canopy to aid universal Arab 

acceptance.  The essence not only to re-

assertive nationalism but to probably 

paint a bigger picture of how they hated 

the west and wants their culture, 

religion, consciousness, territories and 

values to be left alone to them by the 

west. Meaning that the actions are both 

war against the West and the 

reintegration of Arab- nationalism 

falsehood ideology, claimed to haven 

being in existence all these years. 

 

The terrorist activities in this process, 

according to Hilal (1997), depend on 

two major factors: money which 

provides the budget of death; and gun - 

explosives, which supply the weapons 

for inflicting death, to which the 

fundamentalists’ threat are indeed real. 

Their havoc of unquestionable activities 

and disturbance had robbed the people 

and world the needed peace.  One of the 

stake in this ongoing battle in the Middle 

East also is to nationalizing the business 

firms with direct challenging of the 

dominance of the western powers in the 

region.  But what should also not be 

forgotten in hurry is that in the days of 

cold war, the west (US) had also 

encouraged a distorted Arab – 

nationalism solely meant to checkmate 

and creating barrier to communism.  

Hence, if the same people (the Sunni) of 

the Middle East should engender a 

protest, leading to the emergent of ISIS 

and others as seen today, a Sunni project 

tainted toward Sunni – Arab nationalism 

meant to establish Sunni hegemony, 

then, the West needs to have a rethink of 

when to delinking interests.  This is 

because the activities of the Islamic 

states of Iraq Sunni and al sham are 



 

 

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currently tormenting the Middle East 

and its neighbor.  

            

Agreeing that it is both a course and re-

assertive nationalism, even when there is 

no Arab nation, the view of pipes (2015), 

that the level of ISIS global Jihad has 

made every pious Muslim a potential 

soldier of the caliphate suggests the 

admission of both a course and re-

assertive nationalism as real.  This is 

informed by the fact that the ISIS, a 

more formidable, not for planning and 

directing but for simply talking and 

writing; more evolving and most 

threatened violent group in the world. 

              

However, on what makes the ISIS thick, 

succeeding and acceptable compared to 

other Islamist fundamentalist groups – 

like the Al Qaeda, Pipes (2015), notes 

that the ISIS does not plan and direct 

attacks but takes advantage of its high 

profile to incite Muslims to turn against 

their non-Muslim neighbours, bad Arab 

leaders and allies of the imperialist.  An 

instance that tallied with this is the Paris 

and Oklahoma City attacks among 

others.  What is also Worrisome about 

the dangerous activities of ISIS 

according to Pipes (2015), Atran (2015), 

Okereke (2015) and Busari (2015), is the 

offers of spiritual guidance, selection of 

targets and inspiration.  Pipes (2015), 

particularly adds that the ISIS model is 

very dangerous.  It uses inspirational 

link.  It is not in the business of logistic, 

command and control.  And when it 

claims credit, it claims so for inspiration 

purpose, meaning that the activities and 

actions of the group goes with a 

nationalistic inspiration and possibly a 

terror attack to establishing its claims 

and objective. The obvious here is that 

the ISIS approach is more effective with 

a high political impact on the general 

society, which had also paved way for 

the group in Libya, Yemen, Iraq and 

Syria among others, in creating 

discontent, dissatisfaction, disillusioned 

and divided societies in the Middle East. 

 

GENERAL IMPLICATIONS 

The crises in the Middle East have 

exposed some problematic issues in the 

relationship and co-existence of the 

Arabs to themselves, their visitors and 

neighbours alike, and has also provoked 

some reasoning to suggest that both the 

West and the Arab states’ leaders had 

not measured up in their responsibilities 

all these years, leading to the underlined 

hiccups that had crystalized into severe 

implications, especially on the impacts 

of the activities of the Islamist states of 

Iraq Sunni and Al Sham (ISIS) current 

aggressions and terrorist attacks. 

           

The activities of the ISIS, whether in 

fighting to drive away the western 

powers from the Middle East or in trying 

to re-assert nationalism or reintegrate the 

Arabs may in many respect affects the 

entire region; since it is clear that her 

economy and policies are controlled 

from the outside by the western world. 

Chasing them away is like shooting self 

on the waist to either turn crippled - 

paralyzed and or remained invalid for 

life good only for charity recipient or 

otherwise. 

            



 

 

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 The general implications of over 

militarization of the region may end up 

creating an unprecedented catastrophe to 

affecting the environment, political 

governance and huge social 

disequilibrium among others.  The West 

allowing or adhering to the desires of the 

terrorist – aggressors might create untold 

hardship not only to the West and the 

Arab but to the world.  Although, the 

issues raised by the aggressors like 

poverty, home grown democracy, 

unemployment, social decimation, 

economic dislocation and poverty of 

technology among others should be 

reconsidered while tackling the ISIS to 

submission.  The agenda should equally 

include reorientation, rehabilitation and 

reintegration among others as absence of 

any may be more destructive than what 

is currently on.   

             

In addition, the West should look inward 

in re-examining the factors that make 

Neo-democracy impracticable in the 

Middle East without imposition against 

what is obtainable in the West to avoid 

untold hardship on the people. The basic 

factors that breed alienation, deprivation 

and alien to own course or environment 

as presently observed in the Middle East 

should be revisited. 

 

CONCLUSION 

The present events in the middle East, to 

which the activities of the ISIS terrorism 

had imposed is a great threat not only to 

the region but to the global society as 

opposed to the peaceful settlement of 

crisis in the international system. 

However, the categorization of the ISIS 

course in middle East as to whether a 

course of war against the enemy and or 

a ploy to re-asserting the incoherent and 

distorted Pan-Arab nationalism left 

much to be desired as most events are 

hinged on religion and faith.   

            

Besides, the usage of religion and faith 

to whip-up sentiment and probably to 

promote religious radicalization and 

violence in Islam, the adoption of 

nationalism as a symbol of struggle is 

contradicting. As both two factor are not 

the only ingredient propelling 

nationalism.  The re-asserting of 

nationalism can only be possible when 

there is one nation-state with one ideal, 

one people and one desire and not as 

obtained today in the Arab projections. 

This, simply saying that misinformation 

and misgivings might be the falsehood 

relied on to recruiting ISIS followers. 

             

Meanwhile, exception should also be 

drawn that the death of Saddam Hussein 

and the marginalization of the Sunni 

ethnic groups in Iraq from the scheme of 

things should not be a pivot to rallying 

and destabilizing of the entire region, 

after all when the Sunni held sway to 

power in Iraq for years they never 

thought it wise to carve-out a separate 

caliphate for themselves and neither do 

other ethnic groups use spiritual 

inspiration to divide the region.  The 

people and the state should not allow 

themselves to be used in destroying their 

own people, properties and wealth. 

             

Although, it is true according to Phillips 

(1995), that terrorism is a cancer that has 



 

 

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plagued the Middle East but the course 

should be separated.  As its acceptance 

is now metastasizing into new and more 

deadly course imposing a grave 

challenge to the western powers and the 

world.  The ISIS and Al Qaeda among 

others who are now striking inside and 

outside their home region on high profile 

targets with indiscriminate killings 

among others should not be seen as a 

course of self-determination and neither 

do their human slaughters be seen as a 

propelling force of nationalism ideals.  

Terrorism is an outrageous attack carried 

out either by individual, groups or states 

against the human being (Al-

Mulkarramah, 2001). It is barbaric and 

destructive. It has no place in religious 

circle and can never be accepted as a 

course of faith. 

            

Sequel to this, there should be a 

profound global discourse separating 

religion from Islamic radicalism, 

terrorism and religious violence in 

whatever form, especially now that 

terrorism is a transnational problem, no 

longer contained within the borders – or 

the jurisdiction of a single state.  

Another important issue is that the 

western government should do better 

than entrusting their national interests 

and foreign policy goals in the region to 

an incoherent sequence of statements 

spurred by emotional responses to 

evolving events that they have no 

control over and are hardly responsible 

for.  Instead, they should clearly define 

their national interest, especially in 

foreign land and balance them with a 

long term commitment that might be fair 

to all concerned. 

 

 

 

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