Britain and the Yemen Civil War, 1962-1965: Ministers, Mercenaries and Mandarins ― Foreign Policy and the Limits of Covert Action - Hardcover

Jones, Clive

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1903900239 ISBN 13: 9781903900239

Publisher: Liverpool University Press, 2004

Synopsis

Between 1962 and 1965 Britain engaged in covert operations in support of Royalist forces fighting the Egyptian backed Republican regime that had seized power in the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 1962. Covert action was regarded as a legitimate tool of foreign policy as Britain attempted to secure the future of the newly formed South Arabian Federation against the animus of Nasser. The use of covert action, as well as the quasi approval given to the use of mercenaries to support the Royalist cause, was the inevitable result of policy differences within Whitehall (most notably between the mandarins’ of the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office) as well as international constraints imposed upon the UK in the aftermath of the Suez crisis. The book examines the extent to which British policy, while successful in imposing a war of attrition upon Nasser in the Yemen, contributed to the political demise of the very objective covert action was designed to secure: the future stability of the Federation of South Arabia.

About this title

About the Author

Clive Jones is Professor of Middle East Studies and International Politics in the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Leeds, UK. His other published works include Soviet Jewish Aliyah 1989-92 (1996), (with Emma Murphy); Israel: Challenges to Democracy, Identity and the State (2002), (with Caroline Kennedy-Pipe co-editor); International Security in a Global Age (2000 ), (with Ami Pedahzur co-editor); The al-Aqsa Intifada: Between Terrorism and Civil War (2005), (with Sergio Catignani co-editor); and Israel and the Hizb’allah: An Asymmetric Conflict in Comparative Perspective (2009). He has published widely on Middle East politics, intelligence and national security issues and in March 2010, Britain and the Yemen Civil War was the subject of the BBC Radio Four history programme, Document, which examined Britain’s clandestine involvement in the Yemen Civil War.

Review

“In addition to telling the story in great and often fascinating detail, the reader learns much that is unknown about the inner workings of the Royalist forces, as well as the shuttle diplomacy of key members of the Aden group negotiating with the anti-Nasserite forces, including Saudi-Arabia, Jordan, and Iran... For Jones, the Yemen civil war was a forerunner to present-day civil wars, in terms of the difficulties encountered by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the emergence of mercenary or private military organizations. While covering much well-trodden ground on the coup and early debates on whether Britain should recognize the new regime in Yemen, Jones’s important and significant contribution is his analysis of the British Mercenary Organization (BMO) inside Yemen.”  —The International History Review

“Clive Jones describes how British covert – official and unofficial – involvement providing cash and materiel for Royalist forces had the objective of keeping the Republican government and its Egyptian backers so preoccupied with a civil war of attrition that Nasser in particular would be frustrated in his attempts to rid South Arabia, of both the British military presence and HMG’s protégé, the Federation of South Arabia... Jones’s descriptions of mercenary activities, the machinations of the Saudis and Jordanians, is all derring do and a rattling good yarn. A rare combination of a sober academic study and a riveting page-turner!”  —Asian Affairs

“A fascinating work. As Jones shows, the extent to which policy-makers were willing to support private clandestine activity to secure what were perceived to be British interests in the region is the ‘untold story’ of this conflict.”  —Middle Eastern Studies

“ An impressive book that makes a real contribution to the historiography of Britain’s role in the Middle East.”  —Small Wars and Insurgencies

About this edition

• Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1903900239
• ISBN 13: 9781903900239
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 273