Impact Of Globalization On The Middle East

1755 Words8 Pages
The Impact of Globalization On the Middle East By Dhruv Krishnan MYP English 9/Block E Rough Draft February 13, 2018 Globalization is best defined as the expansion of international integration, interaction, and worldwide recognition on a large multi-national scale. Globalization has had a profound impact on the Middle East and has helped contribute to more stable economies/governments, stronger markets, improved economic growth, healthy corporate competition, improved healthcare/education, foreign investment, an increased social media presence, and expanded trade in parts of the Middle East such as the Gulf region. However, many countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen support anti-globalization and strongly believe that…show more content…
So from a non-Islamic standpoint, globalization of these Middle Eastern regions can be a very difficult balancing act, as their respective governments, economy, religion, and culture are so firmly intertwined and interdependent upon one another for tenuous national stability. Their primary governing political system of beliefs is based upon Islamic or Sharia Law, which can be very subjective, open to many forms of interpretation, and can also vary in its strictness/leniency from region to region. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/sharia_1.shtml] In contrast, despite its unique diversity, the United States has a very distinct separation between politics and religion/culture, so while globalization may impact or influence American politics, religion/culture may not be so harshly affected – leaving Americans with the freedom to pursue (or not pursue) any religion of choice without repercussions. But in many countries within the Middle East, any outside influence on their politics (via globalization) may also be viewed as a usually a negative (or Western) interference on the Islamic way of life. From their perspective, globalization is the equivalent of the United States (and Europe) forcing their Western capitalist, democratic, and Christian beliefs and ideas on their national and therefore, Islamic…show more content…
In March of 2011, when the Arab Spring movement occurred, Syria began to spin out of control due to rising humanitarian issues (severe food, water, and medical shortages) and increased Sunni opposition against the Kurdish minority in Syria. This in turn, caused Syria to become decentralized and a massive civil war among the government and the opposition ensued. Many of the insurgents fled into neighboring Iraq and created their own group called ISIS. The ISIS organization is a definite product of globalization and they are connecting the world through a strong social media presence. Many of the original ISIS fighters are from Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain. According to U.S. Homeland Security, the majority of the ISIS fighters were initially from Tunisia. This means that many of the dispersed protesters from the Tunisian Arab Spring joined together with other insurgents to help create ISIS, which is now officially recognized as a terrorist organization. This occurred primarily because of globalization; through the spread of regional integration of anti-American ideas and certain radical notions, which brought ISIS together. In addition, ISIS also spreads terror through graphic online videos and social media. The same social media that led to the Arab Spring, also led to the creation of ISIS. Additionally, ISIS uses social media to recruit people to create lone-wolf attacks such as the simultaneous

More about Impact Of Globalization On The Middle East

Open Document