`titrebThe First World War and the Balkanization of the Middle-East`/titrebThe First World War had tragic consequences for the Middle-East. It led to the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and the balkanization of the region. France and Great Britain sowed the seeds of future conflict in making contradictory promises to different communities. The instability we are witness to today has its roots in the division of the area following the Great War. Further regional conflagration is to be expected.