State formation in the Mashrek region. Historical narratives of state-building and national history since the Sykes-Picot Agreement

• Authors: László Csicsmann

Title variants

CS

Vznik států v Mašreku. Historické narativy o budování státu a národních dějinách od Sykes-Picotovy dohody

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article aims at exploring the simultaneous state-building and nationbuilding process in the Arab Mashrek region after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Historical narratives profoundly changed at the time of the emergence of the modern nation-state system, which was alien in a region where the premier element of ideology was religion. The nineteenthcentury Nahda introduced a vibrant intellectual life to the region and marked the beginning of the so-called liberal era. Whereas in the first half of the twentieth century the region witnessed the birth of modern professional historiography, which (particularly in the case of Egypt) led to scientific enquiry based on national archives, the second half would see the radical phase of Arab nationalism produce a rather different historical narrative along socialist lines. However, the War of 1967, known also as the Setback (an-Naksah), challenged pan-Arabism, and regimes discouraged professional history writing about the conflict.

Keywords

EN

pan-Arabism; Arab nationalism; Sykes-Picot Agreement; Mashrek; Nahda; War of 1967

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Český časopis historický (The Czech Historical Review)
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 121
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 389-406
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

László Csicsmann

• Historický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i., Prosecká 809/76, 190 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic