The ethnic factor in international relations in the Middle East: a historical retrospective and the current state

The Middle East is one of the most hot spots of our time. The close interweaving of peoples, linguistic groups, and religions makes this region one of the most "explosive". Studying the problem of ethnic conflicts in the Middle East, special attention should be paid to the history of the emergence of statehood in the countries of the region. For several centuries, the Middle East region has been a European colony. It was only by the twentieth century that most of the peoples living in the Middle East gained independence. An important role in this was played by armed groups, often professing radical Islam and claiming not only their own country, but also the territory of their "neighbors". This article is also focused on the situation of ethnic minorities who have failed to establish their own State. The most striking example is the Kurds, separated by four borders at once and living in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. The object of this study is the relationship between the peoples of the Middle East. The research is based on the historical and systematic method. Within its framework, the development of the states of the Middle East in the XX and XXI centuries was considered, the relationship between historical prerequisites and the current situation in the region was assessed. Along with historical methods, general scientific methods (analysis and generalization) will be involved. When writing the article, the following tasks were set: 1) To analyze the historical component of international relations in the Middle East 2) To assess the current state of interactions between countries and peoples in the region 3) To assess the degree of influence on the policy of the Middle East countries by armed groups 4) To analyze the degree of involvement of Western states in the regional agenda. The novelty of this work lies in the analysis and study of the historical prerequisites for the formation of statehood of individual countries of the Middle East, dividing them into groups to identify signs that affect the ethnic factor in international relations in the Middle East.

Middle East, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, kurds, Sunnism, Hezbollah, Shiism