It depends on how you define ethnicity. The Westphalian system used in Sykes-Picot assumed a very particular brand of nationalism, nationalism which affected the end of the Ottomans, rather than trying something like earlier Ottoman administration, which gave autonomy to minorities as long as the government received loyalty. The millet system codified some of that autonomy, as it even allowed a millet to redistribute taxes among their own communities. The modern nation-state system also constrains the larger nations so that it is in their interest to use proxy groups to achieve similar influence as they would have gotten through outright conquering. The region was dominated by Turks and Persians for half-a-millennia, it would be silly to assume that absent European or American involvement, those groups wouldn't dominate again.

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Posted by Toomer Deplorable

Team Bitter Clinger

Member since May 2020

17973 posts

Posted on 5/13/21 at 10:16 am to crazy4lsu

quote:
The Westphalian system used in Sykes-Picot assumed a very particular brand of nationalism, nationalism which affected the end of the Ottomans, rather than trying something like earlier Ottoman administration, which gave autonomy to minorities as long as the government received loyalty.

The Romans did the same. This indeed is a characteristic of many lasting military Empires.

quote:
The region was dominated by Turks and Persians for half-a-millennia, it would be silly to assume that absent European or American involvement, those groups wouldn't dominate again.

What? I suggested no such thing. Indeed, I clearly stated that the Ottomans dominated the region and it was the Ottoman’s Imperial rule which kept ethnic rivalries in check throughout the Ottoman Empire.

This post was edited on 5/13/21 at 10:20 am

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