U.K.'s Middle East Policy After WWI

After World War I, international political structure has undergone great changes, which brought opportunity to the British for their expansion in the Middle East. Brilliant diplomatic measures and relatively favorable international environment once brought the United Kingdom's "Middle East Age." However, due to the weakening of its own strength and various changes in the international community, U.K. has suffered from an increasingly difficult situation, which eventually contributes to the fall of Great Britain in the Middle East.The introduction has summarized the background and motivation regarding this topic. Chapter One focused on the extremely important strategic position of the Middle East, and favorable international environment for the British. Chapter Two covered the period from 1919 to 1929. The benefits obtained and obstacles faced by the British Mandate in Iraq, Plastine and Transjordan were first discussed. It was then followed by the analysis of the main policies implemented by the British towards various Middle East nations, which can be described as a combination of military threat and diplomatic negotiations. Chapter Three touched on the events from 1929 to 1939. Over this period, the independence act has gained much strength in the Middle East. On the other hand, U.K. was suffering from the Great Depression and threat from the rise of the United States and the Soviet Union. Moreover, fascism started to emerge in Europe. As a result, the British gradually lost control of Palestine and Iraq, its influence over other Middle East nations has also been weakened. In Chapter Four, U.K.'s Middle East policy over the twenty years after WWI was summarized and evaluated. It has also been used as an epitome to analyze the downfall of the Great Britain.