Relation of World War 2 and Wars of Today
The First World War was a calamity for Europe and Germany. The World War 2 was a more prominent calamity for Germany and Europe. However, without World War I and II, there would be no European Union (EU) today. Today, the Middle East Theatre of World War II is primarily referenced to the British Middle East Command, that ruled North Africa and Southwest Asia allied forces[1]. The World War II was fueled by the tinderbox of Eastern Europe despite Hitler’s ambitions to spark it. Towards half of the 20th Century (1939-1945), the European geopolitics contributed to a lot of instability in the Middle East. During the last few months of 1940 to the 1941 summer, the high number of conflicts among nations initiated the Second World War. Among the major causes of World War II include; appeasement, the threat of communism, unclear German leadership, dissatisfaction with Versailles Treaty and Hitler’s party with Nazi. Until today, the Second World War remains of great importance as a lesson to humanity among the Middle East countries. The goal of this essay is connecting World War II the war in the Middle East to find out how they are related in terms of democracy, troop’s mobilization and how individual roles have changed since World War II.
The Second World War will never lose importance in today’s war in the Middle East. Over the decades, the existence of Eastern question has spark political interests through which France, Britain, and Russia started reaching out to protect their national imperial interests in the Middle East. The Middle East countries have been marked by both small and large occasional wars in the struggle for diplomacy and democracy just like the World War II was oriented. The unclear German leadership is a major cause of World War II; likewise, the empires in the Middle East countries have been revolted by people through war. The greatest stories of oil in the Middle East continues to attract the Western nations who still want to colonize Egypt, Syria, Iraq among the other countries- this has not been welcomed by the Middle East societies given their being transformed by social and technological change from the backward nature of colonialism[2]. The forces that work among the Middle East, the great Russian land Mass of southward pressure as well as Britain’s desire to preserve the World Empire explain this conflict. In the context of World War II, its effects on these three forces and their interrelationship set the phase of the Theatre, which opens the current wars and conflicts among the Middle East nations.
In the World War II, all allied nation’s commanded larger economies and this crucially contributed to their triumph for troop mobilization was assured. Just like the current wars in the Middle East, larger economies by World War II allies led to their ultimate victory over Axis Powers. The combined economic output of the United States and the Soviet Union in 1941 resulted in an economic output whose worth was two times that of Axis Powers. The Troops required a constant supply of guns, bombs, airplanes, new tanks, and other war materials to win the battle. The stable economic output offered a decisive advantage to the US and the Soviet Union in winning the fight. On the other side, Iraq government is being backed by the US military forces/ troops to recapture the Middle East countries from terror attacks. Further, the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq has been exposing the area to Islamic radicalization. The recognition of this danger by Iraq government has made them form militia units to liberate Iraq from the IS hence playing a decisive advantage to liberation. In both World War II and the war in the Middle East, the government has a decisive role to play both economically, politically and socially. Other Middle East countries such as Syria, Iran, Egypt, Israel and other are in the realm of national insecurity, corruption, and religious backdrops and armed forces help in resolving these conflicts.
The World War II helped nations understand how democracy works. Similarly, today’s’ war of the Middle East is helping the members understand the importance and works of democracy[3]. The World War II marked the fall of the non-interventionist and isolationist doctrine of power that had dominated over the US foreign policy after the country’s involvement in the First World War. The Second World War was simply a war for democracy. Today, the World War II is best understood as an international ideological civil war in the struggle for democracy. Since the World War I, the ruling class under capitalism and communism left the locals with no power over bad leadership and their rights were highly sabotaged. The liberal-minded people had no voice until the 1939-1945 awakening. A lot of revolutions took place which at long last leads to resolutions. People fought for their rights and democracy, and this helps the Middle East countries understand the importance of fighting for democracy. In the Middle East, the dream for democracy has been dead. Today, the fight for democracy is the truth behind Middle East war. As per the 2016 study on Middle East Democracy, Israel is the only country with democracy and partly in Kuwait. In President Bush’s speech in the National Endowment for Democracy, he stated that occupation of the US military in Iraq was the beginning stage and quest for democracy in the Middle East region. In this perspective, the World War II greatly relates to the Middle East war since both fights for justice and quest for freedom.
Further, individual roles have changed since World War II, and this is manifest in today’s war in the Middle East. As in the case of most wars, the roles of women in the society changed after World War II. The war of Middle East has been liberating women roles as well. In the Second World War, not only American women but also those from Axis and Allied nations were uniquely affected through the roles they played during the war[4]. Before the war, women filled traditional jobs and were considered inferior to men. Funny enough, today women hold government positions all over the world. Also, women played a major role in resisting the war. Important to note also, the roles of the government have changed since the occurrence of World War II. Today, the federal government’s power at the expense of individual states has increased in all perspectives. Also, the government’s ability to regulate the economy has heightened hence creating a great Depression legacy. Further, before the World War II, the presidency has less importance that it is today since the position’s prominence has dramatically increased. As the Second World War came to an end, the US was the greatest outside power in the Middle East to take roles. Funny enough, the US was concerned with three major concerns which include; the containment of Soviet Union, Persian Gulf Oil and the protection and support for new governance in the Middle East (Israel in particular). However, the rise of Arab nationalism, Arab oil embargo, and Arab-Israel war made it difficult for the US. Further, the modern Middle East war has given women advanced roles in the society. Today, ideas of women are welcome in policy-making even in the higher ranks of governance.
The World War II embroiled many European countries along with the Middle East and other nations. Great dynasties fall during the war; this destabilization extends to today’s war in the Middle East. However, the aggression by Germany was brought to an end by Americans through soviet troop’s mobilization[5]. There is a great relationship between the World War II and the war of Middle East in terms of troop’s mobilization to end the wars. Important to note, the World War II was tragic and claimed over 60 million lives as well as leaving other millions of lives into turmoil. Credible estimates of the war of Middle East casualties range between 150,000 to 460,000. The Second World War contributed to colonialism end and laid strong foundations for EU and UN. On the other side, a war of Middle East is contributing towards the end of geographical and political fights for oil and religion, and thus reducing threats of terrorism.
In conclusion, the relevance of World War II in the current war of Middle East cannot be ignored. The world’s major wars (especially First and Second World Wars) have been dominant in the formation of world’s history. War remains a prominent feature of international affairs since time immemorial throughout today’s modern world. In this perspective, the Middle East war is greatly attributed to the effects of World War II. The early years of the Second World War exposed the Middle East to Axis intrigue vulnerability something which led to the formation of Arab Freedom Movement and Arab nationalism revolt groups. Today, the Middle East is exposed to terrorism and religious conflicts. Also, the US interest on Middle East countries oil causes war in the region, and this threatens the country’s independence and natural resources. However, the World War II and war of Middle East are all contributed by appeasement, the threat of communism, unclear German leadership and dissatisfaction with leadership. The two wars sought to fight for democracy through which individual roles have changed. Further, troop mobilization was facilitated in the World War II, and this has shed lights on the Middle East governments to finance for troops as they continue to seek assistance from the US. Therefore, wars have been central in the formation of human experience and the quest for democracy.
[1] Duffield, Mark. Global governance and the new wars: the merging of development and security. Zed Books Ltd, 2014.
[2] Rothschild, Joseph. East Central Europe between the two world wars. University of Washington Press, 2017.
[3] Fawcett, Louise. International relations of the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
[4] Kuniholm, Bruce R. The origins of the Cold War in the Near East: Great power conflict and diplomacy in Iran, Turkey, and Greece. Princeton University Press, 2014.
[5] Lewenstein, Bruce V. “The meaning of public understanding of science in the United States after World War II.” Public Understanding of Science, 2016: 11-46.