Britain's War in the Middle East: Strategy and Diplomacy, 1936-42 [Hardcover]

Martin Kolinsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0312222572 | ISBN-13: 978-0312222574

This book examines the early years of the Second World War, during which Britain devoted immense resources to building military bases in Egypt and Palestine. The political stability of the two countries was of prime concern to avoid diverting troops away from fighting the external enemy to internal security tasks. The paradox of Britain's eventual victory was that it could not perpetuate its political authority. Demands for independence intensified in Egypt and among Palestinian Jewry, and led to postwar struggles.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an informative book that usefully defines British military dilemmas in Middle Eastern conditions... American Historical Review

About the Author

Martin Kolinsky is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 322 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312222572
• ISBN-13: 978-0312222574
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,719,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful study of British Policy, February 4, 2000

By 

Yusuf Turan Cetiner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Britain's War in the Middle East: Strategy and Diplomacy, 1936-42 (Hardcover)

Repeatedly in the twentieth century, Britain has been involved in the Middle East greater than any other external power. In his "Britain's War in the Middle East, Strategy and Diplomacy 1936-42", Martin Kolinsky focuses on the whole major issues of the period, presenting for each an illuminating analysis and his research in depth. The issues include:

- British Strategic Policy, 1936-38, - Political Uncertainties in Egypt during the Interwar Period, - Palestine 1936-38: the Reshaping of British Policy, - The Policy of Appeasement : the White Paper on Palestine and Jewish Refugees, - British Strategic Policy, 1939-June 1940, - Defence Issues in Egypt and Palestine, 1939-40, - British Strategic Policy, July 1940-June 1941, - British Intervention in Egyptian Politics, - Wartime Policy towards Palestine,

Britain's War in the Middle East allows the reader to see the making of British foreign policy and to understand it as a process that was shaped by interactions with the countries of the region before and during the first years of the Second World War. As Martin Kolinsky explained in his masterful study of British strategy and diplomacy, in this period, Britain was caught between the contingencies of global warfare and growing nationalist pressures in the Middle East. Indeed, the dominance which Britain established in the Middle East after the great war was seriously challenged during the years 1936-42. In those crucial seven years, Britain's position was confronted by a formidable combination of internal and external threats, arising from new currents of Arab nationalism and from Axis pressures and military operations. The use of a rich collection of original documents and Kolinsky's inspired scholarship makes this book indispensable for historians, researchers and students. It builds and draws on the author's earlier works on both before and after the period in concern ("Britain and the Middle East in the 1930s" and "Demise of the British Empire in the Middle East 1943-55" [co-editor with Michael J. Cohen in these books] and "Law, Order and Riots in Mandatory Palestine, 1928-35") and adds new information to this extraordinarily complex subject.