Originally published in The Cairo Review

By Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi

A third wave of geopolitics has been making its way into the Middle Eastern political geography since the end of the Cold War. The first wave began with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. The second wave trailed World War II, when the European colonial order collapsed. The third wave will reach its fullest extent when the American order in the Middle East fades and is replaced by sustained regional disorder. The contemporary Middle East is the product of these three geopolitical waves. Among the humiliating consequences of these waves is the rise of the extremist group calling itself the Islamic State.