It is exactly a century since the British and some leading Arabs began a negotiation on the establishment of an Arab state to be formed on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.  Similar negotiations between the British and the French eventually led to the formation of significant parts of the Arab state system as it came into place in the aftermath of the First World War.  

 

These new states were invariably artificial creations that showed little concern for the sectarian composition of these countries.

 

Plagued by instability and revolution during the twentieth century, some of these states are now on the verge of disintegration. The lecture will discuss the inner workings of these states, the reasons for their downfall and the role of the Islamic State (or ISIS) in the reshaping of the map of the Middle East.