His 342
HIS342: Contemporary Middle East History
Midterm Examination
Mid-Term Essay #1
The Ottoman and Persian empires faced formidable challenges attempting to maintain military and economic parity with the West throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The Middle Eastern empires attempted to meet these challenges through the implementation of defensive developmentalism policies, with better-equipped armies, bureaucratic government and involvement in key markets. To compete with European empires, Middle Eastern empires attempted to increase their military strength, which resulted initially in more effective control of their territories. The empires then undertook policies to centralize and expand their authority, institutionalizing stable bureaucracies (Gelvin, 2005. p.74). The empires utilized various economic avenues to support their modernized armies and growing bureaucracies required to support their centralized governments. The implementation of defensive development policies brought about the introduction of revised land ownership policies, agricultural monopolies and new transportation infrastructures (Gelvin, 2005. p.75). Although attempted with good intentions, these programs too often ended in failure, bringing about substantial economic and political losses. The economic reserves of the Middle Eastern empires could not meet the financial obligations of their developmental programs, which along with unforeseen losses in the market value of critical cash crops, resulted in substantial debt to European lenders. The financial debt resulted in treaties, often with direct oversight of key markets by Europeans, which further eroded Middle Eastern power and world influence (Khater, 2004, p. 57). Middle Eastern empires attempted to counter the threat of Western empires by adopting defensive developmentalism policies, with policies modeled after Western empires. These policies contributed to the continual peripheralization of Middle East within
Midterm Examination
Mid-Term Essay #1
The Ottoman and Persian empires faced formidable challenges attempting to maintain military and economic parity with the West throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The Middle Eastern empires attempted to meet these challenges through the implementation of defensive developmentalism policies, with better-equipped armies, bureaucratic government and involvement in key markets. To compete with European empires, Middle Eastern empires attempted to increase their military strength, which resulted initially in more effective control of their territories. The empires then undertook policies to centralize and expand their authority, institutionalizing stable bureaucracies (Gelvin, 2005. p.74). The empires utilized various economic avenues to support their modernized armies and growing bureaucracies required to support their centralized governments. The implementation of defensive development policies brought about the introduction of revised land ownership policies, agricultural monopolies and new transportation infrastructures (Gelvin, 2005. p.75). Although attempted with good intentions, these programs too often ended in failure, bringing about substantial economic and political losses. The economic reserves of the Middle Eastern empires could not meet the financial obligations of their developmental programs, which along with unforeseen losses in the market value of critical cash crops, resulted in substantial debt to European lenders. The financial debt resulted in treaties, often with direct oversight of key markets by Europeans, which further eroded Middle Eastern power and world influence (Khater, 2004, p. 57). Middle Eastern empires attempted to counter the threat of Western empires by adopting defensive developmentalism policies, with policies modeled after Western empires. These policies contributed to the continual peripheralization of Middle East within