America's Forgotten Middle East Initiative: The King-Crane Commission of 1919 (International Library of Twentieth Century History) - Hardcover

Patrick, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1784532746 ISBN 13: 9781784532741

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 2015

Synopsis

Sent to the Middle East by Woodrow Wilson to ascertain the viability of self-determination in the disintegrating Ottoman Empire, the King-Crane Commission of 1919 was America's first foray into the region. The commission's controversial recommendations included the rejection of the idea of a Jewish state in Syria, US intervention in the Middle East and the end of French colonial aspirations. The Commission's recommendations proved inflammatory, even though its counsel on the question of the Palestinian mandate was eventually disregarded by Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau in favour of their own national interests. In the ensuing years, the Commission's dismissal of claims by Zionist representatives like David Ben-Gurion on their 'right to Palestine' proved particularly divisive, with some historians labeling it prophetic and accurate, and others arguing that Commission members were biased and ill-informed. Here, in the first book-length analysis of the King-Crane report in nearly 50 years, Andrew Patrick chronicles the history of early US involvement in the region, and challenges extant interpretations of the turbulent relationship between the United States and the Middle East.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"The King-Crane Commission Report may be the most detailed account extant of the Wilsonian imaginary applied to a particular region. Patrick's lucid and beautifully written study brings to life all manner of paths not taken in the post-Ottoman Middle East. Historians, regional specialists across disciplines, and international relations scholars will all find this book essential reading."
Leonard V. Smith, Frederick B. Artz Professor of History, Oberlin College
 
"This admirably fair-minded book provides a reliable and deeply engaging account of one of the least understood episodes in the history of America's relationship with the Middle East. Anyone interested in how the United States has sought to engage a post-colonial world can profit from Andrew Patrick's splendid research and judicious analysis."
David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley

"Andrew Patrick's meticulously researched study presents a shrewd assessment of the King-Crane Commission of 1919, an episode in the history of the Middle East that had been long overdue for an in-depth historical investigation. Writing with admirable clarity, Patrick offers an absorbing analysis that is even-handed and firmly rooted in the sources salvaging the King-Crane Commission from ahistorical and sometimes ill-informed appropriation by present-day controversies. Indeed, while it will be read profitably by those interested in the history of American foreign relations, Patrick's book is also a significant and timely contribution to modern Middle Eastern history."
Oliver Bast, Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern History, University of Manchester

About the Author:

Andrew Patrick is an Assistant Professor of History at Tennessee State University. He received his PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Manchester.

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1784532746
• ISBN 13: 9781784532741
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336