Margaret Thatcher and the Middle East

This volume examines Margaret Thatcher's policy on the Middle East, with a spotlight on her approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Azriel Bermant (Author)

9781107151949, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 November 2016

274 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.3 cm, 0.56 kg

'In sum, this is a persuasive and bold account, one built upon admirable archival research and historical knowledge, and which greatly adds to our understanding of British foreign policy and the Thatcher era as they pertain to the Middle East. Its tone is admirably measured. The value is in the detail and the substantial evidence provided on certain specifics.' Rosemary Hollis, International Journal of Middle East Studies

Margaret Thatcher and the Middle East examines Thatcher's policy on the Middle East, with a spotlight on her approach towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It questions claims that she sought to counter the Foreign Office Middle East policy, and maintains that the prime minister was actually in close agreement with the Whitehall bureaucracy on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In particular, the volume argues that Thatcher's concerns over Soviet ambitions in the Middle East encouraged her to oppose the policies of Israel's Likud governments, and to work actively for an urgent resolution of the conflict. Furthermore, while Thatcher was strongly pro-American, this was not translated into automatic support for Israel. Indeed, the Thatcher government was very much at odds with the Reagan administration over the Middle East, as a result of Washington's neglect of the forces of moderation in the region.

Introduction
1. Thatcher and the 'Finchley factor'
2. The new Soviet threat
3. Thatcher endorses the Venice Declaration
4. Operation Babylon
5. The crisis in Anglo-American relations
6. Israel's invasion of Lebanon
7. Thatcher's diplomatic initiative
8. Thatcher's landmark visit to Israel
9. The Reagan administration spurns the London Agreement
10. The collapse of the 'Jordanian option'
11. A new approach towards the PLO
12. The end of a friendship
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP], Society & social sciences [J]