This course made me aware of the important role that China, Turkey, and ethnic tensions between different Arab tribes play in Middle Eastern dynamics. I was already aware of the role of the United States and Russia, especially in Syria, and regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Israel. Still, the emerging role of China was new. The lecture series showed why China will have an increasingly important role in the region as military warfare advances technologically. This is important knowledge both for regional actors but also for the United States and their role in the world as the global hegemon. Turkey, in between Europe and the Middle East, has primarily economic interests in the region, something I found very interesting. Further, up until this lecture, I believed that all Arabs (except Bedouins and Druze) were simply Arabs. I know see the distinction between different Arab tribes and how their tribal and religious identities play a role in the Middle East.
