The British Withdrawal From The Arabian Gulf And Its Regional Political Consequences In The Gulf

SCOTT (copy 1): From the John Holmes Library collection.

Since the 19th century the Gulf region has been an area of intense interest, having been influenced first by the British and more recently by the Americans. This book charts the changing security and political priorities of these two powers and how they have shaped the region. Adopting a narrative approach, the author provides background history on British involvement from the 19th century and a detailed analysis of the years after the Second World War, when oil supply became more critical. He covers the growth of US influence and the British withdrawal, and follows more recent changes as the US built up its military presence following Desert Storm and the invasion of Iraq. Looking at the three enduring missions fulfilled by the British - maintaining interstate order, protecting the free flow of commerce, which later included petroleum; and keeping out other Great Powers – the book demonstrates how these had by 1991 been assumed almost entirely by the American leaders. A comprehensive and thorough look at the history of the Gulf and the contemporary issues affecting the region, this will be essential reading for students of Middle East history, military history and diplomatic history. Visit the author's website at www.thepoliticsandsecurityofthegulf.com

This book offers new insight into the end of the British Empire in the Middle East. It takes a fresh look at the relationship between Britain and the Gulf rulers at the height of the British Empire, and how its effects are still felt internationally today. Over the last four decades, the Persian Gulf region has gone through oil shocks, wars and political changes, and yet the basic entities of the southern Gulf states have remained largely in place. How did this resilient system come about for such seemingly contested societies? Drawing on extensive multi-archival research in the British, American and Gulf archives, this book illuminates a series of negotiations between British diplomats and the Gulf rulers that inadvertently led Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE to take their current shapes. The story addresses the crucial question of self-determination versus 'better together', a dilemma pertinent to anyone interested in the transformation of the modern world.

Noyes var Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern, African and South Asian Affairs fra 1970 til 1976. Forord af William J. Porter, tidligere Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs og tidligere ambassadør i Saudi Arabien og Algeriet.

The British Empire employed a diverse range of strategies to establish and then maintain control over its overseas territories in the Middle East. This new interpretation of how Britain maintained order, protected its interests and carried out its defence obligations in the Gulf in the decades before its withdrawal from the region in 1971 looks at how the British government increasingly sought to achieve security with great economy of force by building up local militaries instead of deploying costly military forces from the home country. Benefitting from the extensive use of recently declassified British Government archival documents and India Office records, this highly original narrative weighs the successes and failures of Britain's use of 'indirect rule' among the small states of Eastern Arabia, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the seven Trucial States and Oman. Drawing important lessons for scholars and policymakers about the limitations of trying to outsource security to local partners, Security in the Gulf is a remarkable study of the deployment of British colonial policy in the Middle East before 1971.