2. Why did European economic practices and financial institutions (trading companies, banks, investments, creation of global markets) weaken Middle Eastern and Asian economies and upset local politics?
3. How did countries or empires in the Middle East and Asia attempt to modernize in order to resist Western encroachment? What did modernization mean or entail in these cases (nationalism, economic development, industrialization, military reform, secularization, etc.)?
4. What types of reactions did people living in the Middle East and Asia have to modernization? Were there strong oppositions in some cases? Did modernization unleash further—and unintended—movements for reform or
change in other cases?
5. Why was the rise of modern Turkey in the early 20th century the culmination of various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire?
6. Why were Egypt’s efforts to promote Arab nationalism in the second half of the 20th century a result of Western interference in the region?
7. What is the connection between the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the presence of the West in the region, particularly its influence on the modernization of Middle Eastern states?
8. How are the history of independence in India and the creation of Pakistan related to the adoption and development in the region of Western-styled modern political ideas?
9. Why is the rise of Japanese imperialism in the first half of the 20th century a product of European presence in East Asia and of the pursuit of a certain model of modernization?
10. How does China’s desire to rid itself of foreign control and secure economic development explain the rise of communism in the early 20th century and the persistence of the communist regime?