Foundations of ‘the first order’ in the modern Middle East

Rogan argues that the formation of the modern Middle East and the birth of ‘a new order’ can be traced back to the violent events of 1860.

As Israel invades southern Lebanon—a ‘limited military incursion’ it said, as it claimed nearly two decades ago—it bombs a crowded Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon.
Imagine being a Palestinian, fleeing the horrors of Gaza or the senseless, brutal killings in the West Bank, seeking refuge in Lebanon. You barely survive in a tent with your siblings, cousins, uncles, and aunts, only for another bomb to shatter your life—once again.

Now, Israel advances to the next phase of its war ‘against Hezbollah’— ‘We have no issue with the Lebanese’, it said, just as it had no issue with the Palestinians—flattening civilian neighbourhoods in the process.

Imagine being a Syrian, displaced, fleeing the nightmare that is your homeland—caught in the quagmire of civil war, where Assad, jihadist factions, and power-mad opportunists from Iran, Turkey, and Russia vie for control. You flee to Lebanon in se…