The Sykes-Picot agreement, known officially as the Asia Minor Agreement of 1916, was arguably the first in a series of attempts by colonial powers to mould the borders of the Middle East.
Signed in secret at the height of the first world war, Sykes-Picot was an agreement between France and Great Britain, approved by Russia. It would have lasting consequences for the region. It is frequently cited as the epitome of European colonial betrayal, and the genesis of most conflict in the Middle East. But while Sykes-Picot did significantly affect regional politics, the history is more complicated <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/danger-of-analogical-myths-explaining-the-power-and-consequences-of-the-sykespicot-delusion/86C60DA4127D96822D1B5D397CDEACBF> than popular narratives suggest. France was allocated what is now Syria, Lebanon and southern Turkey Britain claimed most of modern-day Iraq, southern Palestine and Kuwait Russia took control of Armenia. The Sykes-Picot agreement did not stay secret for long. In November 1917, the Bolsheviks, who were now in power in Russia following the fall of the Russian monarchy, published Sykes-Picot to the world <https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/05/sykes-picot-centennial/482904/> . Many scholars argue it was the agreements that followed Sykes-Picot that were more consequential, and Sykes-Picot holds only “minor importance <https://heinonline-org.ezproxy-b.deakin.edu.au/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/ajilunbo110&id=133&men_tab=srchresults>” by comparison. While this may be true, Sykes-Picot is still emblematic of how consequential European colonial ambition was in the Middle East. And while the borders outlined in the agreement did not eventuate, Britain and France still managed to get most of the territory they wanted, with little consideration of local populations https://www.juancole.com/2025/02/agreement-affect-middle.html -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#35229): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/35229 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/111183365/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: marxmail+ow...@groups.io Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [arch...@mail-archive.com] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
