Sir Arthur Hirtzel and the Pax Britannica in the Middle East

Fisher, John

Abstract

Sir Arthur Hirtzel, the long-serving senior official in the India Office was an old–and a much respected–Middle Eastern hand. Few in Whitehall could rival him in his capacity ‘to get into the mind of the man at the other end of the line.’ Surprisingly, perhaps, Hirtzel never visited the region and never set foot in India, with which he was so intimately connected in an official capacity. As this examination of his role during the First World War and its immediate aftermath shows, Hirtzel’s perspicacity concerning key political and military developments, as well as the opportunities and the constraints presented by the war, was striking. Notable was his percipience in predicting the import of Wilsonian idealism for Britain’s ambitions in the wider Middle Eastern region. So too was his ability to adapt policy to the changing international environment. He also foresaw the considerable difficulties, especially financial pressures, which would arise in Iraq and affect British control there.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 6, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 4, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 10, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 14, 2021
• Journal: Diplomacy and Statecraft
• Print ISSN: 0959-2296
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-301X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 263-288
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2021.1913356
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7449234