Aviel Roshwald, Ethnic Nationalism & the Fall of Empires: Central Europe, Russia & the Middle East, 1914–1923. New York: Routledge, 2001, xii, 273 pp.

Extract

In early 2003, President George W. Bush touted the prospects for democratization in Iraq, as well as in adjacent countries of the Middle East, following a U. S.-led invasion. He neglected to explain, however, how a country home to Kurds, Arab Sunnis, and Arab Shi'a—groups that historically have not co-existed harmoniously—would adjust to new and imposed political arrangements. Both the Shi'a, who constitute a majority, and the Kurds seek to escape Sunni oppression, omnipresent since the creation of Iraq in the 1920s. Although democracy may end Sunni privilege, Washington's commitment to the territorial integrity of Iraq will likely dissatisfy some if not many Kurds and Shi'a, who, presumably, not only expect improved representation within an Iraqi parliament but also enhanced political and cultural autonomy. Nearly a century ago, similar yearnings manifested themselves only to remain unfulfilled. This theme of dashed expectations pervades Aviel Roshwald's superb book, Ethnic Nationalism & the Fall of Empires: Central Europe, Russia & the Middle East, 1914–1923.