The League of Nations mandate system was designed to guide former Ottoman territories toward independence. Instead, it became an instrument of European colonialism, arbitrarily redrawing borders and imposing foreign rule that ignored the ethnic, religious, and political realities of the Middle East. The Arabs realized they had been ‘colonized’ rather than ‘liberated.’ Western policies were met with strong resistance from local Arab nationalists who sought self-determination, leading to uprisings against French rule in Syria and British rule in Iraq and Palestine.

In French-mandate Syria and Lebanon, nationalist resistance was immediate, leading to the 1920 Franco-Syrian War and the massive 1925-1927 Syrian Revolt, which forced France to adopt a “divide and conquer” strategy, separating Lebanon and creating sectarian states to manage resistance. Simultaneously, the British mandate faced significant uprisings, including the 1920 Iraqi revolt, which necessitated a move toward indirect rule, and the persistent, intercommunal violence in Palestine culminating in the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt, a major uprising against colonial rule and increasing Zionist immigration.

Despite using intense military force ~ such as the French bombing of Damascus and harsh British repression in Palestine ~ the mandatory powers found it increasingly difficult to sustain control, ultimately resulting in the loss of legitimacy and the eventual independence of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon during the 1940s. The decisions made by Britain and France between 1920 and 1948 did not foster stability; rather, they acted as a catalyst for long-term political fragmentation, sectarian tension, and violent conflict that continues to shape the region’s instability today.

The borders often slashed through existing communities, separating cohesive ethnic groups, such as the Kurds, who were left without a state, or forcing incompatible groups together. In Iraq, the British merged three distinct Ottoman provinces (Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul) with varying Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish populations, creating an artificial state prone to internal instability. France created a “Greater Lebanon” by expanding Mount Lebanon’s borders to include coastal cities with large Sunni populations, altering the demographic balance in favour of Maronite Christians.

This facilitated sectarian favoritism and fostered long-term political instability that escalated into the Lebanese Civil War. The seeds of the Israel-Palestine conflict were........

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