2 - The Order of Notables (1919–1952)

Summary

This chapter traces the formation of Middle Eastern regional order from the end of the First World War until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. It first analyses the role of external powers and forces in shaping the political orders and foreign policies of the Middle East’s emergent pivotal powers. The chapter then discusses the pro-Western foreign policy orientation of Turkey, a relatively ‘hegemonic’ and strategically located state. It examines the role of Arab nationalism in the hegemonic strategies of Britain’s Arab client states, before analysing the more isolationist regional policy of Saudi Arabia – which counterintuitively had much in common with Turkey during this period. The final section of the chapter discusses Iran’s seldom remarked-upon embrace of Arab nationalism during the 1940s and early 1950s.