Transitions of Power

Successful transitions of governmental power are vital to the well-being of any empire or nation-state. How a nation proceeds from one regime to the next can greatly affect the ability of the incoming regime to govern and the standing of the state in the world. Alexander the Great built a vast empire spanning from the Mediterranean to the Hindu Kush mountains in eastern Asia. It was the greatest empire the world had ever seen, built through masterful conquest. However, conquest was all Alexander seemed concerned with because upon his death his empire was left with no king, no heir, and no system by which to govern his vast empire. Alexander’s generals divided up his empire amongst themselves in the aftermath of his death. This parallels to what happened after the fall of the Ottoman empire after World War I. When the Ottoman empire fell, there was a power vacuum because no there was no plan on how the territory would be governed. The French and British stepped in and, “divided the land that had been under Ottoman rule since the early 16th Century into new countries – and relegated these political entities to two spheres of influence…” (Osman). The events following the fall of the Ottoman empire are similar to the events following the fall of Alexander’s empire. However, while both empires were divided up into new countries following their demise, the major difference between the two is that while the people under the control of the Macedonians had no hope to regain their independence after Alexander’s death as his generals were certain to take control, the people of the Middle East had been promised independence by the British when the Ottoman empire fell during World War I (Osman). When the Ottomans fell and independence did not materialize, the people of the Middle East were not pleased with the British and French stepping into the role of governors. This set up for a very shaky transition of power and led to instability in the region that has continued to this day.

Smooth transitions of power are essential to stability. When Alexander died, his generals divided up the land of the empire evenly and the transition was smooth. They died not fight over who would take control of the entire empire; each general was satisfied with his lot. The Arab Spring is a more recent example of transitions of government, however, these transitions were not nearly as smooth and greatly destabilized many Middle Eastern and North African nations. In the Spring of 2011, many countries in this region of the world experienced protests and uprisings that brought about the end of many dictatorial governments. However, the hopes for a brighter future were quickly ended by the power struggles that ensued. Since these uprising, countries like Libya and Syria have fallen apart, with factions in Libya vying for control and a violent civil war erupting in Syria that continues to this day. Libya is a prime example of when there is no plan to transition governmental authority after the fall of government and Syria is an example of when a government refuses to cede their power to a new government. In 2011, a Damascus business women said on the state of Syria, “All that anybody wants is to be able to feed their families and that is getting harder and harder to do” (Shah). Without stability and smooth transitions of power, the people suffer and nations fall into chaos.

From the past and present, we have learned stability and smooth transitions of power are necessary to ensure a well functioning government. Without these, nations can quickly degenerate and fall into disarray, with no easy way to fix it. Even with these lessons from the past, we consistently relive the mistakes of poor government transitions in the present.

-Ethan Fessler

Word Count: 583

Works Cited:

NPR Staff. “The Arab Spring: A Year Of Revolution.” NPR, NPR, 17 Dec. 2011, http://www.npr.org/2011/12/17/143897126/the-arab-spring-a-year-of-revolution.

Osman, Tarek. “Why Border Lines Drawn with a Ruler in WW1 Still Rock the Middle East.” BBC News, BBC, 14 Dec. 2013, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25299553.

Shah, Dhruti. “Arab Spring: ‘It Was the First Time I Felt I Belonged’.” BBC News, BBC, 26 Dec. 2011, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-16275176.