The End of Pax Britannica in the Persian Gulf, 1968-1971

This book examines how the rulers in the Persian Gulf responded to the British announcement of military withdrawal from the Gulf in 1968, ending 150 years of military supremacy in the region. The British system in the Gulf was accepted for more than a century not merely because the British were the dominant military power in the region. The balance of power mattered, but so did the framework within which the British exercised their power. The search for a new political framework, which began when the British announced withdrawal, was not simply a matter of which ruler would amass enough military power to fill the void left by the British: it was also a matter of the Gulf rulers – chiefly Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the ruling shaykhs of the lower Gulf – coming to a shared understanding of when and how the exercise of power would be viewed as legitimate. This book explores what shaped the rulers’ ideas and actions in the region as the British system came to an end, providing a much-needed political history of the region in the lead-up to the independence of the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar in 1971. Acknowledgments 5 A Note on Transliteration 8 Contents 9 Chapter 1: Introduction 11 Shaykhly Authority 13 Historiography and Sources 16 Analytical Themes and Organization of the Book 23 Chapter 2: The End of Pax Britannica in the Persian Gulf 28 The British Deliver the Message of Withdrawal 30 An Iranian-Saudi Rift Emerges 36 A Regional Security Pact for the Gulf 41 Historical Competition and Conflict in the Gulf 44 A Union of Gulf Shaykhdoms 47 Between Iran and Saudi Arabia 51 The Shah and King Faysal Reconcile 54 Interconnections 58 Chapter 3: One Step Forward, One Step Back 60 Kuwaiti and Saudi Diplomacy in the Lower Gulf 61 Iran and the Union of Shaykhdoms 65 Package Deals 67 Iran to Replace the British? 71 Abu Musa and the Two Tunb Islands 74 Iran and Bahrain and Referendum 76 Jockeying for Dominance in the Union 79 Toward Reconciliation? 84 Iran and the Tunb Islands 87 A Sense of Urgency 89 Chapter 4: Iran: The British Successor in the Gulf? 91 Kuwait’s Mediation: Iran and Bahrain 93 Iran’s Bid for the Gulf Islands 96 A British Reversal? 100 Faysal and Zayid 103 Bahrain and the Union 107 The Shatt Al-Arab and War 111 Iran Escalates 114 Between Arab and Iranian Nationalisms 118 Chapter 5: Nixon, the Shah, and King Faysal 121 Plots Against King Faysal 125 Faysal’s Call for Islamic Solidarity 128 Union in Disarray 132 An Unexpected Demonstration of Force 137 Inter-Arab Politics 139 Iran Aims to Replace the British 144 Chapter 6: Iran Shifting Gears 147 Iran and Iraq: Shadow War? 150 Bahrain Diplomacy 154 Preparing for a Settlement 156 The U.N. Solution 159 Iranian-Saudi Pact? 161 Sharjah’s Bid for Oil 165 Chapter 7: From Crisis to Clarity 171 Faysal Confronts Zayid 171 Armed Conflict Over Zarrara? 175 Tapline Goes Offline 178 Hedging Their Bets 181 The Shah’s Budget Crisis 185 The Shah Appeals to Nixon 187 The Libyan Solution 189 A New British Policy in the Gulf? 193 Luce’s Consultations 195 A Union of Nine: Not To Be 200 Chapter 8: A Sea Change in the Middle East and the Gulf 202 Big Oil vs. OPEC 203 Nixon Sides with the Shah 206 Iran and the Islands 209 British Confirm Withdrawal 214 The Wilting Union 216 The Islands Quandary 217 War of Words 222 An Interconnected Gulf 226 Chapter 9: Grandeur and Independence 230 Bahraini Independence 233 Zayid Could Not Wait 234 Qatar Seeks Saudi Blessing 237 Negotiating the Islands 239 Abu Musa 243 Shaykh Saqr Is Out of Options 247 Tacit Agreement 249 Taking the Islands 253 The Backlash 255 The End of the Trucial States 258 The United Arab Emirates 259 Chapter 10: Conclusion 262 Bibliography 270 Official Documents 270 Arabic Language Media 271 Persian Language Media 271 English Language Media 271 Serials 271 Books and Articles (English) 272 Books (Arabic) 280 Index 281 This book explores the changing balance of power in the Persian Gulf in the four years after the British announced their decision to withdraw forces from the Gulf in 1968, ending 150 years of military supremacy in the region. The British system was accepted for more than a century not merely because the British were the dominant military power in the region. The balance of power mattered, but so did the framework within which the British exercised their power. The search for a new framework for regional politics, which began when the British announced their withdrawal, was not simply a matter of which ruler would amass enough military power to fill the void left by the British: it was also a matter of the Gulf rulers chiefly Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia coming to a shared understanding of when and how the exercise of power would be viewed as legitimate. This book explores what shaped the rulers ideas and actions in the region as the British system came to an end, providing a much-needed political history of the region in the lead-up to the creation of the UAE in 1971. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Introduction (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 1-17 The End of Pax Britannica in the Persian Gulf (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 19-50 One Step Forward, One Step Back (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 51-81 Iran: The British Successor in the Gulf? (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 83-112 Nixon, the Shah, and King Faysal (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 113-138 Iran Shifting Gears (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 139-162 From Crisis to Clarity (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 163-193 A Sea Change in the Middle East and the Gulf (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 195-222 Grandeur and Independence (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 223-254 Conclusion (Brandon Friedman)....Pages 255-262 Back Matter ....Pages 263-290