Churchill and the Islamic World: Orientalism, Empire and Diplomacy in the Middle East

(Paperback)

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Winston Churchill began his career as a junior officer and war correspondent in the North West borderlands of British India, and this experience was the beginning of his long relationship with the Islamic world. Overturning the widely-accepted consensus that Churchill was indifferent to, and even contemptuous of, matters concerning the Middle East, this book unravels Churchill's nuanced understanding of the edges of the British Empire. Warren Dockter analyses the future Prime Minister's experiences of the East, including his work as Colonial Under-Secretary in the early 1900s, his relations with the Ottomans and conduct during the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915-16, his arguments with David Lloyd-George over Turkey, and his pragmatic support of Syria and Saudi Arabia during World War II. Challenging the popular depiction of Churchill as an ignorant imperialist when it came to the Middle East, Dockter suggests that his policy making was often more informed and relatively progressive when compared to the Orientalist prejudices of many of his contemporaries.

Reviews

An enlightening and original account of an important and neglected aspect of Churchills strategic and political world view. It forces us to rethink what we know about the origins of the modern Middle East. Essential reading for Churchill scholars and general students alike. -- Richard Toye, Professor of Modern History, University of Exeter
Warren Dockter has written the first comprehensive account of Churchills lifelong and many-side engagement with the Muslim world. Combining meticulous research with insight and imagination, he restores to its rightful place a theme of crucial importance for the assessment of the great mans character and career. -- Paul Addison, Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh
A timely, penetrating, and balanced study. The trenchant analysis it provides of encounters, perceptions, and complexities is bound to have an abiding endurance and relevance like the multifaceted figure and culture it examines. -- Professor Riad Nourallah, Director of Research, London Academy of Diplomacy
A panoramic and insightful overview of Churchills lifelong relationship with the Muslim world which reveals it to be both more complex and more interesting than is generally portrayed. -- Allen Packwood, Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, University of Cambridge
Warren Dockter's timely and important book has illuminated Churchill's relationship with the Islamic world which has previously been so misunderstood. It is necessary reading for Churchill scholars and anyone interested in the Middle East. Truly a work of monumental scholarship. -- Boris Johnson, author of The Churchill Factor

Author Bio

Warren Dockter is Lecturer in International Politics at Aberystwyth University and has been a Research Fellow in History at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. He has authored one book which was longlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman History Prize and have edited another. He holds a PhD, an MA, and two BAs (history and Political Science). He regularly contributes to the Daily Telegraph and the Western Mail, on British History, Winston Churchill, US/UK relations, and the Trump administration.