The unstable international order was the product of the collapse of the great dynastic empires in 1918-19 and a dysfunctional world economy.

ECONOMIST: 20th-century history

Both during the post-World War I breakup of the Ottoman Empire and with the breakup of the British and French empires after World War II, British and French imperial authorities colluded with Arab imperialists to guarantee the latter's nearly uninhibited control over the Middle East.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Sudanese crossroads