Preview

Nationalism In The 20th Century Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
565 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Nationalism In The 20th Century Essay
What were the effects of nationalism in the later 20th century?
Nationalism united people against western/foreign interference and influences, as evidenced in the Iranian Revolution, the establishment of Islamism, and the Organization of African Unity. In 1979, after several years of civil resistance, strikes, and demonstrations, the people of Iran overthrew their US-backed leader, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, because of his unjust rule and his ties to the States. Mohammad Reza Shah was put into power during the Iranian coup d’etat by the CIA, solidifying the US’s control over Iranian oil, which was previously nationalized by the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. In addition to the social and political repression of his
…show more content…
The Organization of African Unity promoted such change in a peaceful, constructive way, but certain organizations and groups used violence and other means to attain their goals, such as the Islamic extremists. Islamism rose in the 1970s, putting an emphasis on pan-Islamic unity and the elimination of non-Muslim influences in the Middle East. Extremists were united under the pretense of the US’s and the West’s domination over the area. Islamic extremists rejected all foreign influence, as they were disillusioned by the United States’ support of Israel, the Suez Crisis in which France and Britain supported Israeli troops that fought against Egyptian forces, and a general fear of decline (Dove, Global Developments 1/17, Section IV, A). Nationalism shaped the Islamic extremists in the Middle East by uniting them together against Western influence. They put an emphasis on Islamic (Sharia) Law and pan-Islamic unity while rejecting Western notions. These extremists embraced their identity as Muslims, and as a result of their disillusioned beliefs, shunned any non-Muslim influences. Nationalism united people and brought them together to resist foreign influences and domination. Although the two World Wars

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Imagine what our country would be like without nationalism and sectionalism. Nationalism and sectionalism have gone back to the 1800’s and continue to go through our country. Two examples of nationalism are the building of roads and canals and the Monroe Doctrine. Each of those brought pride to our country, along with bringing the United States together. An act of sectionalism was the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise divided our country.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nationalism, not sectionalism, was the driving force during the era of good feelings. Nationalism became the leading ideology of the American republic. While sectionalism proceeded in bringing the nation into turmoil and constant bickering among the politicians, as in the case with dealings leading to the Missouri compromise, nationalism was able to unite the nation into a headstrong body, led by an ever-increasing, more powerful central government.…

    • 538 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Revolutionary Nationalism in Ireland was a huge movement as well as a firm belief shared by many at the time. This idea of a republic free from the chains of the England was shared aggressively by many Irishmen, and there it can be seen that the movement as a whole contained a number of mixed successes. Founding members of the United Irishmen, along with figures such as Wolfe Tone, included Thomas Russell and Samuel Neilson, and by 1798, the Society of United Irishmen had around 100,000 members. Crossing the religious divide in Ireland, it had a mixed membership of Catholics, Presbyterians, and Anglicans from the Protestant Ascendancy. From this perspective, the movement of revolutionary nationalism had a large amount of support, proving it to be a success in that aspect as it was causing a spread in these revolutionary ideas. However, a different view comes to light as the outcomes of the…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Iran Hostage Crisis was when 52 Americans were held hostage for a year and 79 days in November 4th 1979 to January 20th, 1981 by University students in support of Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. This is a continuation from Operation Ajax effects on U.S. ties with Iran. (Also, known as the U.S. Embassy Crisis) During the 25 years the Shah ruled, many Iranians feared the autocratic leader. The Shah created the SAVAK police based from the CIA and the Israeli Mossad. Whoever disobeyed the law, was imprisoned or tortured. A “White Revolution” began from 1963 through 1978 imposing a sequence of reforms that opposed the traditional system. In January 1963, the Shah announced the White Revolution. Enforcing women’s’ rights, land reform, allowing non-Muslims to hold office, westernizing Iran, and much more were some of the initiatives for this revolution. Pahlavi imparted fear to the people and tried to modify Iran in every which way. During his time in office, people didn’t appreciate the Shah for his abuse of power and thought he was adversative to Iran’s society made up of 90% Muslims. They looked up to anti U.S radical religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini began to protest and give speeches about Iran’s’ Shah and his plans in January of 1963. Throughout the months of January through June, Khomeini gave speeches about the Shah and soon his crowd of people grew from nothing to many many people. In June 1963, authorities took Khomeini and detained him in Qom, Iran and took him to Tehran. This caused an uproar as his followers rioted. He was released in August but almost a year later, in November he was held in jail for half a year and was forced to apologize after he was released. Standing up for his views, Khomeini stood his ground and didn’t apologize. Later, he spent 14 years in exile and stayed in Turkey for less than a year and Iraq for the rest. While in exile, Khomeini…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Operation Ajax

    • 4003 Words
    • 17 Pages

    In 1953 the Central Intelligence Agency working in tandem with British intelligence overthrew the democratically elected leader of Iran Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, who was educated in the West and pro-America. Shortly after being elected in 1951 he nationalized the British run oil fields, denying Britain control of Iran’s hugely lucrative oil infrastructure. The operation included the use of techniques such as; propaganda, bribery, engineered demonstrations using agents of influence, and false flag operations. “The CIA’s agents harassed religious leaders and bombed one’s home in order to turn them against Mossadeqh.” They also attacked mosques, and distributed phony anti-Mossadegh handbills. Mossadegh was arrested and spent the rest of his days under house arrest. The Shah was reinstated, the West regained control of the oil fields, and the CIA created the Iranian secret police, SAVAK, and a twenty-five year reign of terror and torture commenced. The operation was seen as a huge success towards western intelligence agencies, but it was just one small operation of continued foreign influence in Iran. Most importantly, the decision to overthrow Mossadegh was to preserve Western control of Iran’s oil by reinstating the Shah who was friendly towards the West. The excuse for American involvement was a perceived communist threat. Further justifications for the overthrow include; the failure of diplomacy, the approval by the Shah, Mossadegh’s alienation, and Eisenhower and Churchill coming to power.…

    • 4003 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The U.S and Iran used to have a good relationship, but things fell apart during the Iranian revolution. Right before the revolution, the U.S propelled the Shah Mohamed Reza and replaced him with a charismatic guy called Mohammed Mossadegh. Mossadegh nationalized the Anglo- Iranian Oil company in the year 1951; it was a company that gave Britain billions of dollars every year. This nationalization…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Iran Hostage Crisis

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Since 1908, the United States have repositioned their foreign interests towards the Middle East for the abundance of Petroleum within the region. Attracting the west, Britain and the United States have maintained a dominating role in Iran for their rich supply of oil. In 1953, Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh nationalized the Iranian oil fields. The United States responded by implementing a coup d’état in Iran, overthrowing Mossadegh, and placing “Shah” Reza Pahlavi in power. With a steady flow of oil and luxuries being sold to the United States, the Shah brought prosperity to Iran. However, there was a growing resentment towards the Shah from the Shi’ite Muslims community for allowing western influence into Iran. This was the beginning of a turbulent relationship between the U.S. and Iranian governments. Relations escalated to the point where radical Muslims led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah, who sought refuge to America in the 1979 Iranian revolution. The radicals then stormed the American embassy in Tehran, seizing more than 60 Americans hostages in what is now known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The hostage crisis was the most heated in a series of issues that arose during the last year of Carter’s presidency. Many Americans wondered if Jimmy Carter was at fault for the crisis. Gaddis Smith, an American historian, described the situation in the following quote: “President Carter inherited an impossible situation and he and his advisors made the worst of it” (PBS.org). Smith’s statement is an accurate summarization of Carter’s actions during the hostage crisis. Carters failed rescue mission known as Operation “Eagle Claw”, the emergence of the American media, and the rising gas prices due to the relations between the countries frustrated American people, as well as hurt Jimmy Carter’s image. When the presidential election of 1980 occurred, American people were anticipating a battle for…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Research paper

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In Iran, however, the shah pulled away from the West as religious unrest threatened his rule. Finally forced to abdicate, the shah left Iran in 1978; the Ayatollah Khomeini then returned from exile to oversee the creation of a new Islamic state. Khomeini followed the conservative Shi'ite branch of Islam, as did most Iranians. He denounced the Baath government of Iraq as corrupt and called on Iraqis to overthrow Hussein.…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Volkish thinkers, the Enlightenment and parliamentary democracy were foreign ideas that corrupted the pure German spirit. With fanatical devotion, Volkish thinkers embraced all things German: the medieval past, the German landscape, the simple peasant, and the village. They denounced the liberal-humanist tradition of the West as alien to the German soul.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Iran Hostage Crisis was between the United States and Iran, which lasted from 1979-1981. It was the first time the United States was forced to deal with Islamic extremists. The crisis occurred because the United States allowed the Shah, who had been dismissed as ruler of Iran, to enter the United States for cancer treatment. The overthrow of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran by an Islamic revolutionary government earlier in the year had led to a steady deterioration in Iran-United States relations (Stalling). The crisis was caused by the seizure of the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran by Iranian students on November 4, 1979 (Stalling). The Shah fled Iran and went to the United States. Ayatollah Khomeini, a fundamentalist Islamic leader,…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    99. Nativism is a policy that protects all person born or established in America. This issue became so popular because immigrants were flooding to america trying to accompany land and religious freedom. So this created barriers that hinder the process. Not only did this policy make things difficult for immigrants, it didn't protect them at all, the interest of natives came first.…

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    All the Shah's Men

    • 2115 Words
    • 9 Pages

    There were many aspects concerning the history of Iran that showed that the coup was a bad idea. The role of religion played a very influential part in the history of Iran. Many people living in Iran still to this day believe in the Zoroastrian religion. The beliefs associated with this religion may account for many of the uprisings and political protests aimed at the Shah and his power. This religion taught Iranians that they "have an inalienable right to enlightened leadership and that the duty of subjects is not simply to obey wise kings but also to rise up against those who are wicked" (20). Many thought that the Shah was a terrible leader, and that he would continue to sell out his country to foreigners for the right amount of money. I believe that Mossadegh also believed this, and that he used this Zoroastrian belief to do so. The Shah did not have farr, because he did not act or behave morally. Even Shiism, which came about long after the religion of Zoroastrian, believes that rulers may hold the…

    • 2115 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hostage Crisis

    • 2543 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States. Fifty-two US citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamic students and militants took over the Embassy of the United States in support of the Iranian Revolution. Sixty-six Americans were taken captive when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, including three who were at the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Six more Americans escaped and of the 66 who were taken hostage, 13 were released on November 19 and 20, 1979; one was released on July 11, 1980. Start 1953 coup In February 1979, less than a year before the hostage crisis, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, had been overthrown in a revolution. For several decades before that, the United States had been an ally and backer of the Shah. During World War II, Allied powers Britain and the Soviet Union occupied Iran and required Reza Shah the existing Shan of Iran to abdicate in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The invasion was allegedly in fear that Reza Shah was about to align his petroleum-rich country with Nazi Germany during the war: However, Reza Shah 's earlier Declaration of Neutrality and refusal to allow Iranian territory to be used to train, supply, and act as a transport corridor to ship arms to Russia for its war effort against Germany, was the strongest motive for the allied invasion of Iran. Because of its importance in the allied victory, Iran was subsequently called "The Bridge of Victory" by Winston Churchill. By the 1950s, the Shah was engaged in a power struggle with Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq, an immediate descendant of the previous monarchy, the Qajar dynasty. In 1953, the British and U.S. spy agencies deposed the democratically-elected government of Mossadegh in a military coup d 'état codenamed Operation Ajax, and restored the Shah as an absolute monarch. The anti-democratic coup…

    • 2543 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the mid 20th century, the people of Iran were going through many changes. In 1953, a coup was organized and with Britain and America’s help, Muhammad Mossedeq was arrested and taken out of power. With Reza Shah as the main authority in the country, he acts as a puppet to Western influence. Shah reigned through fear and force with the help of the State Information and Security Organization (SAVAK). The Shah fled Iran to the United States because of the followers Ayotollah Khomeini rounded up against him in 1979, giving the Iranian population a fresh look at things. Thus, through all of these drastic changes within society, culture and government power, Iran experienced an Islamic revolution in 1979. This revolution had been a long-time coming given that the last few decades angered the people of Iran to the point where violence was their answer. Because of the political, economical and especially social tensions built up over time, a two day street fight is what ended the 2,500 year old monarchy.…

    • 1757 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Romantic era, nationalism proved to be a major influence of the relationship between composers and their music. The political unrest all over Europe provoked many forms of nationalism. The Romantic composers of this era expressed their sense of nationalism in many ways.…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays