The Twilight of British Ascendancy in the Middle East

This work is an account of Anglo-Iraqi relations from Britain's reconquest of Iraq in 1941 until the end of the immediate post-Second World War period in 1950. In particular, it shows how Britain reasserted its dominant position in Iraq during the war and attempted to maintain this position after the conflict when, under the pressure of nationalist sentiment in Iraq and manpower and financial constraints at home, and in accordance with its treaty obligations, it had withdrawn all of its ground troops. Thus, not only does this book describe an important episode in the fairly rapid disintegration of British hegemony in the Middle East after the war, it also examines the possibilities and limitations of indirect rule. Finally, it is the story of how the ruling class of a recently independent Arab nation struggled to free itself from the lingering grip of a major European power while still preserving sufficiently close ties with that power to ensure its external security and internal control.

Inhalt
Introduction - PART 1: THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE PERIOD OF MAXIMUM BRITISH INFLUENCE, 1941-45 - The Defense of Iraq - The Destruction of Iraq - The Production and Export of Cereals - The Great Inflation - The Kurdish Uprisings - The Dispute over Kuwait and Umm Qasr - The Formation of the Arab League - PART 2: THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE BEGINNING OF THE DECLINE IN BRITISH INFLUENCE, 1945-48 - Britain's Weakened Position - The Iraqi Opposition - The Reconstruction of Iraq's Armed Forces - The Treaty of Portsmouth, Phase One: The Negotiation - The Treaty of Portsmouth, Phase Two: The Collapse - PART 3: THE ARAB-ISRAELI WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ANGLO-IRAQI RELATIONSHIP, 1948-50 - Iraq's Intervention in Palestine - The United Nations Arms Embargo - The Economic Crisis - The Syrian Imbroglio - The Tripartite Declaration - The Campaign Against the Iraqi Jews - PART 4: THE PROBLEM OF OIL - The Oil Pipelines - The First Revision of the Oil Concession - The Second Revision of the Oil Concession - PART 5: STERLING BALANCES AND DOLLAR ALLOCATIONS - The Early Financial Agreements - The Later Financial Agreements - Conclusion