The quarter century after the end of the Second World War and the transfer of power in India in 1947 marked the slow and turbulent dissolution of the British Empire in the Middle East. Seeking to capture the period in its full complexity and contradictions, acclaimed historian Wm. Roger Louis here provides a through-going account of the British Empire's gradual decline. Unpicking the overlapping motivations of those across Britian, the US, and the Middle East, the book demonstrates how and why enthusiasm for the British involvement in the region waned, the chaotic ways in which the withdrawal unfolded, and the importance of these events for understanding the region today. The book explores the period in full detail: from the overthrow of the Musaddiq government in Iran, the Egyptian Revolution, Sudan's independence, and the events of the pivotal year of 1955 that set the stage for the Suez crisis the following year; through the pivotal Suez crisis of 1956 itself; to the crises of 1957, the Iraqi Revolution of 1958, and the 1967 Arab-Israeli war; and concluding with the collapse of the British position in Aden and the decision to withdraw from the Gulf, a process completed by the end of 1971. This panoramic and comprehensive history draws on six decades' work in archives across Europe, the Middle East, and the US - including those from governmental archives and private papers and in multiple languages - complemented by a considerable body of oral history testimony, much of it acquired by the author through conversations with contemporary British politicians and officials. In so doing, the book sheds new light onto the nature and complexity of the British Empire in its final days - and the importance of understanding this history today.
By:
Wm. Roger Louis (Kerr Professor Kerr Professor University of Texas)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 240mm,
Width: 160mm,
Spine: 40mm
Weight: 746g
ISBN: 9780198201977
ISBN 10: 0198201974
Pages: 528
Publication Date: 05 June 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Part I From Musaddiq to Nasser, 1952-March 1956 1: Muhammad Musaddiq and 'Iranian Englishmen' 2: The Overthrow of the Musaddiq Government 3: The Oil Consortium of 1954 4: Prelude to the Revolution in Egypt 5: The Egyptian Revolution and Its Aftermath 6: The Critical Year 1955 7: The Sudan's Independence 8: Jordan in 1956 9: The Buraimi Oasis and the Arabian Peninsula 10: Towards the Upheaval Part II The Suez Crisis 11: Nasser's Nationalization of the Suez Canal Company 12: Misconceptions 13: The Suez Canal Users Association 14: The Invasion Part III The Middle East, 1957-1971 15: The Crises of 1957-1958 16: The Iraqi Revolution 17: The 1967 War 18: The Collapse in Aden 19: The Withdrawal from the Gulf 20: The Legacy of the Balfour Declaration Epilogue
Wm. Roger Louis, CBE is Kerr Professor at the University of Texas and Honorary Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford. A Past President of the American Historical Association, he is Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford History of the British Empire series. His books include The British Empire in the Middle East, 1945-1951.
Reviews for The End of the British Empire in the Middle East, 1952—1971
'If Gibbon has a successor it must be Wm. Roger Louis, who has become after a lifetime's study the greatest and truly incomparable historian of the decline and fall of the British Empire.' * Geoffrey Wheatcroft * 'Roger Louis is the pre-eminent historian of Britain's tortuous relationship with the modern Middle East from 1945 until the withdrawal from East of Suez in 1971. In this, the second of two magisterial volumes, he traces - with astonishing mastery of the archival record - Britain's struggle to retain its 'informal empire' after 1952 against the insurgent forces of Arab and Iranian nationalism as the Cold War intensified. This is a monument of historical scholarship.' * John Darwin, Nuffield College, Oxford University * 'With his trademark archival mastery and unparalleled analytical acumen, Wm. Roger Louis has produced the definitive work on Britain's end of empire in the Middle East. Capaciously researched, this page-turning book moves from high level policy debates, centering the United Nations and Anglo-American relations, to the on-the-ground thinking and actions of nationalists and colonial administrators. It is an urgent read for anyone seeking to understand the historical roots of the region's present-day circumstances and conflicts.' * Caroline Elkins, Harvard University * 'Louis completes his magisterial account about the fate of history's largest empire in today's most volatile region on earth. No twenty-first century historian or policymaker should think of touching the Middle East without studying each riveting page.' * Derek Leebaert, author of Grand Improvisation: America Confronts the Brutish Superpower, 1945-1957 *
