The problem with what you're asking is that history never repeats itself. When you try to find parallels you implicitly shoehorn certain assumptions based on the present. For example you can try to draw a parallel between the British occupation of modern Iraq in World War One and the nation building they didn't the 1920s to the US invasion and nation building in recent years. But all that tells us is that a western power has occupied Iraq twice, and you lose the historical context, because these two events happened under very different circumstances.

That isn't to dissuade you, but you're better off just focusing on reading a few good histories. Why do the current issues exist? The booklist should be able to provide a start. Looking for parallels will encourage you to learn things wrongly I think. If you have more specific questions I may be able to answer them.