Brief Description
This book connects the unravelling of the British Empire in the Middle East to the decline of sterling and British oil policy.
Learn More about the Book
This book is an important political and economic history of the unravelling of the British Empire and its connection to the decline of sterling as a leading international currency. Analyzing events such as the 1951 Iranian oil nationalization crisis and the 1956 Suez crisis, Steven Galpern provides a new perspective on British imperialism in the Middle East by reframing British policy in the context of the government's postwar efforts to maintain the international prestige of the pound. He reveals the link that British officials made between the Middle Eastern oil trade and the strength of sterling and how this influenced government policy and strained relationships with the Middle East, the United States, and multinational oil firms. In so doing, this book draws revealing parallels between the British experience and that of the United States today and will be essential reading for scholars of the British empire, Middle East studies and economic history.
About the Author
Steven G. Galpern received his PhD in history from the University of Texas, Austin, after which he worked for five years as a historian at the US Department of State, where he currently works as a Middle East Analyst.
Review Quotes
1. "Many strands of the final years of British imperialism are brought together in this lucid and fascinating study by Steven Galpern. It is likely to remain the definitive account of the links between sterling, oil and the Middle East." -Rodney Wilson, Middle Eastern Studies
2. "an important reinterpretation of British decolonization in the Middle East." -American Historical Review
3. "There is much to admire in Galpern 's study. It is a pioneering study of the financial and diplomatic aspects of oil policy, meticulously researched, and covering an enormous amount of complicated financial detail in a manner which never loses the non-specialist." -Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
4. ."..an important contribution to the historiography of the British Empire in the postwar period." -David S. Painter, Journal of Interdisciplinary History
5. "this is an important study which should be read by any historian concerned with sterling, British imperialism, and external economic policy after 1945." -Economic History Review
6. ."..meticulously researched, rich in primary source documentation, and strong on economicanalysis a readable account of the tribulations and termination of Britain s Middle East empire." -Middle East International
7. ..".meticulously researched, rich in primary source documentation, and strong on economicanalysis a readable account of the tribulations and termination of Britain s Middle East empire." -Middle East International"
8. "There is much to admire in Galpern s study. It is a pioneering study of the financial and diplomatic aspects of oil policy, meticulously researched, and covering an enormous amount of complicated financial detail in a manner which never loses the non-specialist." -Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History"
9. ..".an important contribution to the historiography of the British Empire in the postwar period." -David S. Painter, Journal of Interdisciplinary History
10. "Scholars from fields as diverse as Middle East studies, international history, the British Empire, business and economic history, and US foreign relations will read this book with great profit. And read it they must if they are to develop a more sophisticated and thus more complete understanding of the postwar British role in the Middle East." -Iranian Studies"
