Middle authoritarian regimes followed a pattern of anti-Western policies until the effects of economic and information globalization demanded reforms. As conservative Arab states attempt to maintain the autocracy they relied on after gaining independence, their citizens, affected by the development of information and education, are challenging their resistant governments, as evidenced by the Syria's reluctance to capitulate. The proliferation of information and education underscored the Arab Spring protest movements, as citizens' contempt for their stubborn governments grew under economic pressure, as the current situation in Syria. The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during its establishment process. independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent, self-sufficient states, free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. of years. In an attempt to promote nationalist independence, regional states immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948, when Israel declared its independence. Israel once and now represented an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict is typical of this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention on the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance to both sides, but both Cold War hegemons now had to recognize the sovereignty of Middle Eastern states. With their state and power cemented, the Middle East...... middle of paper ......996. Print.Huntington, Samuel P. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968. Print. Jouejati, Murhaf. “Syria's Motivations for its Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs and What to Do About Them.” » Middle East Journal, Vol. 59, no. 1 (winter 2005), p. 52-61. Internet. December 8, 2013. Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. New York: Scribner, 1995. Print. National Geographic. Cradle & Crucible: History and Faith in the Middle East. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2002. Print. Nye, Joseph S. and David A. Welch. Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. Talhamy, Yvette. “The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian-Iranian relationship”. Middle East Journal, Vol. 63, no. 4 (fall 2009), pp. 561-580. Internet. December 8. 2013.