Contenu du sommaire : Dossier : Militaires et pouvoirs au Moyen-Orient

The Lebanese Army, 1945 to 1975: From National Jewel to Crumbling Institution. A major player in Lebanon's post-colonial history, between 1945 and 1975 the Lebanese army experienced its foundational period as well as its first challenges in a troubled regional environment shaped by the Arab-Israeli wars. Created with the aim of embodying the unity and ideal of a hitherto unprecedented nation-state, the role of the Lebanese army was increasingly challenged at the end of the 1960s, however. The spread of divisions within the military hierarchy, criticism of the methods used by the army and the institution's inability to win unanimous support vis-à-vis its major internal and external crises are a number of the factors that weakened Lebanon, the country ultimately descending into “civil” war in 1975.

The Army in Iraq from 1932 to 1968: Between Arbitration and Control of Political Power. This article presents a different chronological framework than the one traditionally put forth to understand the birth of the Iraqi army and the key role it played in building the Iraqi State. Between the country's formal independence in 1932 and the Baath party's rise to power in 1968, the nation-building process and the rise of the army as a political tool were largely synonymous phenomena. This article retraces the evolving power dynamics and regime changes from a military perspective. Initially non-existent, the army then began to arbitrate between various factions, before ultimately gaining power itself. However, this stranglehold on power prompted its own collapse as a military tool and several groups of rival militias took its place.

The Birth of Military Regimes in the Middle East: Reinterpreting the “Age of Revolutions”. In an interview, Henry Laurens revisits the concept of “the Age of Revolutions” in the Middle East, which refers to a period stretching from the 1940s until the 1970s. He likewise emphasises the historiographical misunderstandings that occurred with regard to this topic. The military, viewed as the promoter of modernity, was supposed to ensure reforms that would prevent these States from tipping over into Communism. In fact, however, the governmental systems implemented often resembled police states (mukbabarat) in which intelligence services played a key role. If these governments can be seen as revolutionary, it is only in so far as they aimed to effect social transformation.

Nasser, Amer and Their Army In 1952, Gamal Abd al-Nasser seized power with the support of the Free Officers Movement. This coup took place whilst the Egyptian army was being established. The new regime, both authoritarian and military, had to control the officers from which it had emerged, but also had to provide the country with an effective military tool. These two endeavours intricately linked the state and the army together, thus defining the specific features of Nasser's regime. Very early on, this regime took the form of a polyarchy, wherein two main powers became increasingly powerful. It was only after the 1967 war that this aspect was transformed. This article examines in detail how the regime and the country's defence system was created.

Foreign Policy and the Military in Syria (1946-1970): From Independence to Dictatorship. Perhaps more than in any other country in the Middle East, Syria's domestic and foreign policies are strongly interconnected. This unique trait can explain the army's rise to power as well as the Baath party's triumph over other political factions. This article sheds light on how a group of officers identified themselves with the Baath party, in turn using it to take possession of the State.

Politics and the Army in Turkey (1908-1980). Spanning the period from the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 to the 1980 coup d'État, this article puts forth the hypothesis that although the army had important means of coercion and action at its disposal, thus granting it a supra-social status, it often lacked internal cohesion. Its interventions, both direct and indirect, were reactions to crises, which they often exacerbated but did not always control. Although there is no doubt that the army possessed an “esprit de corps”, a common nationalist and Kemalist ideology, as well as a minimum of organic unity, it nevertheless did not manage to derive its legitimacy from an exclusive supra-social position. Consequently, it had to interact with State and civil society actors. Its technology of power was designed according to the interests and expectations of the officers who wielded it, the constraints and opportunities they faced, as well as the subjective perceptions that they had regarding various political problems.

Politicians and Generals in Israel during the 20th and 21st Centuries. Although for the first two decades following the establishment of the State of Israel, consensus reigned regarding Tzahal, or the Israeli Defence Forces, today this institution is no longer exempt from public criticism. Its image as the “army of the nation”, a melting pot for generations of immigrants, still flourishes. But this image now only reflects part of the reality and a number of transformations have been accompanied by questions and doubts: What is the weight of the role played by religious soldiers? Are the generals becoming a threat for Israeli democracy? Is it the State which “possesses an army”, or the army which “possesses a State”?

The Transformations of Vingtième Siècle. Journal of history: Internationalisation and Digitalisation. Over the course of the last fifteen years, the journal Vingtième Siècle has undergone several major transformations. The first affected the composition of its reading committee, which is now considerably larger and more diverse. In 2014, the reading committee is now composed of representatives from many different fields of research, instead of being focused on political history as it had been when the journal was launched in 1984. The second transformation concerns the impact of globalisation on the choice of articles published by the journal. Vingtième Siècle now publishes a greater number of articles devoted to non-French topics, especially in the field of transnational history. Finally, the most striking change was the shift to digitalisation and its implications for the mode of reading and a broader readership.

International History in Germany since 1990: Origins, Renewals, Perspectives. This article describes the current state of affairs in German historiographical production in the sub-disciplinary field of international relations. Since the mid-1990s, in a threefold context of geopolitical upheaval, accelerating globalisation and the generational renewal of both cultural and transnational norms, traditional diplomatic history has been transformed into international history. This transformation marks the return of this subfield within the historiographical landscape after several decades living in the shadow of the intellectual hegemony of social history. This renewal applies to both the methodological and thematic levels in the context of the internationalisation of historical science.

An Unrecognised Dimension of May 68 in France: Capital Flight. This article addresses an important economic dimension of the events of May 1968 in France: massive capital flight towards Switzerland. Based on the internal documents of the main institutions involved in both countries, the author traces the clandestine outflows of banknotes that were the direct consequence of the socio-political crisis of May-June 1968. Despite the imposition of exchange controls and secret interventions in the financial market, the outflows continued and exacerbated the major financial crisis that was plaguing the French State. On the other hand, these financial flows allowed the Swiss financial market to assert its role as a global wealth manager and solidify its relations with French capital holders.

Priority Education Policy: A Project Developed Outside the Political Realm (1981-2001). French priority education policy was one of the measures taken in 1981 to fight against social inequality amid a context of decentralisation and increased devolution. It was also designed as a laboratory for the transformation of the education system. This unique affirmative action policy was at first conceived in response to extreme and limited educational situations, before becoming a trade-union project and then a political project. Between 1981 and 2001, three important moments emerged with regard to the drafting of regulatory texts. Alain Savary's careful decision to bypass parliamentary debate revealed his pragmatism and his determination to introduce a policy of differentiation.