Why didn’t post-WWI Middle East borders match ethnic or religious lines?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Because outside powers dominated border-making after the war, prioritizing strategy and interests
Because many ethnic and religious groups had long lived mixed together, making neat borders hard to draw — Wrong. Mixed populations made clean identity-based borders difficult, but that alone does not explain the final map.
Because the region's oil reserves were unevenly distributed, so borders were drawn to secure access — Wrong. Oil mattered in some areas, but the borders were drawn before oil became a major factor and do not consistently follow oil fields.
Because outside powers dominated border-making after the war, prioritizing strategy and interests ✓ — Correct! Great powers dominated border-making after the war, drawing lines to serve their own strategic and imperial interests rather than local identities.
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