Ending Empire in the Middle East: Britain, the United States and Post-war Decolonization, 1945-1973 (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern History) - Hardcover

Smith, Simon C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415431212 ISBN 13: 9780415431217

Publisher: Routledge, 2012

Synopsis

This book is a major and wide-ranging re-assessment of Anglo-American relations in the Middle Eastern context. It analyses the process of ending of empire in the Middle East from 1945 to the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Based on original research into both British and American archival sources, it covers all the key events of the period, including the withdrawal from Palestine, the Anglo-American coup against the Musaddiq regime in Iran, the Suez Crisis and its aftermath, the Iraqi and Yemeni revolutions, and the Arab-Israeli conflicts. It demonstrates that, far from experiencing a ‘loss of nerve’ or tamely acquiescing in a transfer of power to the United States, British decision-makers robustly defended their regional interests well into the 1960s and even beyond. It also argues that concept of the ‘special relationship’ impeded the smooth-running of Anglo-American relations in the region by obscuring differences, stymieing clear communication, and practising self-deception on policy-makers on both sides of the Atlantic who assumed a contiguity which all too often failed to exist. With the Middle East at the top of the contemporary international policy agenda, and recent Anglo-American interventions fuelling interest in empire, this is a timely book of importance to all those interested in the contemporary development of the region.

About this title

About the Author

Simon C. Smith is Professor of International History at the University of Hull. He has published widely on British imperial history and his books include Kuwait, 1950-1965: Britain, the al-Sabah and Oil and Britain’s Revival and Fall in the Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial States, 1950-1971.

Review

"Simon (international history, Univ. of Hull) analyzes the Anglo-American special relationship as it relates to Middle East policy by both nations, and concludes that the allies often relied on assumptions that created difficulties between them. [...]Simon encourages readers to reassess the Anglo-American special relationship, challenging the presumption of clear communication and coordinated policy. Summing Up: Highly recommended." Choice

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0415431212
• ISBN 13: 9780415431217
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264