This book deals with British involvement in the Middle East from the mid-nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. Encompassing a wide range of topics -- including Britain's imperial legacy; Palestine, Israel and the Jews; and the contemporary Middle East -- it examines Britain's role in Egypt, the Levant, the Fertile Crescent, and the Gulf. The twenty scholar/contributors are renowned specialists, and have contributed original research in order that the scope and purview of this work will fill a lacuna in the literature on Britain's role in the region.
Chapter contributions include: Gender, Tribe, and the British Construction of Iraq; The British Role in the Early Development of Tikrit and the Subsequent Ascendance of the Tikritis; Sir Anthony Eden and the Sevres Collusion -- October 1956; Operation Alpha, 1955-1956: Anglo-American Collusion in Search of an Israeli-Egyptian Settlement; Palestine and the Consequences of the Suez Crisis, 1957-1967; The British Departure from the Persian Gulf, 1968-1971; From Rushdie to 7/7: British Muslims and UK Foreign Policy; Britain and Iraqi War. This very substantial volume, comprising 150,000 words, is complemented by editorial introductions to the six main sections. It is essential reading for historians, and political analysts and policy-makers.
