This work is an account of Anglo-Iraqi relations from Britain's reconquest of Iraq in 1941 until the end of the immediate post-Second World War period in 1950. In particular, it shows how Britain reasserted its dominant position in Iraq during the war and attempted to maintain this position after the conflict when, under the pressure of nationalist sentiment in Iraq and manpower and financial constraints at home, and in accordance with its treaty obligations, it had withdrawn all of its ground troops. Thus, not only does this book describe an important episode in the fairly rapid disintegration of British hegemony in the Middle East after the war, it also examines the possibilities and limitations of indirect rule. Finally, it is the story of how the ruling class of a recently independent Arab nation struggled to free itself from the lingering grip of a major European power while still preserving sufficiently close ties with that power to ensure its external security and internal control.

This is a penetrating account of Anglo-Iraqi relations from 1929, when Britain decided to grant independence to Iraq, to 1941, when hostilities between the two nations came to an end. Showing how Britain tried--and failed--to maintain its political influence, economic ascendancy, and strategic position in Iraq after independence, Silverfarb presents a suggestive analysis of the possibilities and limitations of indirect rule by imperial powers in the Third World. The book also tells of the rapid disintegration of Britain's dominance in the Middle East after World War I and portrays the struggle of a recently independent Arab nation to free itself from the lingering grip of a major European power.