Brief learning objectives have been made available by the author, to assist you with your studies. 

This chapter will enable a greater understanding of:

• The impacts of World War II on the Middle East and the emergence of independent states in the region.

• The emergence of the State of Israel and the core controversies of the Arab–Israeli conflict.

• The decline of colonial influence in the region and the transfer to the Cold War environment.

• The impacts of the Cold War, particularly the impacts of superpower foreign policy on regional political dynamics.

• How regional events, such as the Yemen Civil War, the Lebanese Civil War and the Iran–Iraq War, capture the impacts of the Cold War on the Middle East.