Learning from the History of British Interventions in the Middle East - by Louise Kettle (Paperback)

About the Book

Drawing on a wealth of previously unseen documents, sourced by Freedom of Information requests, together with interviews with government and intelligence agency officials, Louise Kettle questions whether the British government has learned anything from its military interventions in the Middle East, from the 1950s to the 2016 Iraq Inquiry report.

Book Synopsis

Learning from history helps states to create foreign and security policy that builds upon successes and avoids past mistakes. Louise Kettle's insightful analysis - drawing on a wealth of previously unseen documents, sourced by Freedom of Information requests, together with interviews with government and intelligence agency officials - questions whether the British government actually learns from history. This is achieved through an extended commentary on military interventions in the Middle East since the 1950s, including a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Whitehall decision-making and a critical examination of the 2016 Iraq Inquiry report.

From the Back Cover

Does history have an active role in shaping British foreign politics? Do governments learn lessons from the past? History is a powerful tool in the creation of foreign and security policy, enabling states to build upon successes and avoid past mistakes. Louise Kettle's insightful analysis - drawing on a wealth of previously unseen documents sourced by Freedom of Information requests as well as interviews with officials from government and intelligence agencies - questions whether the British government learns from history and demonstrates how failing history is preventable. This is achieved through an extended commentary on military interventions in the Middle East since the 1950s, including a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Whitehall decision-making and a critical examination of the 2016 Iraq Inquiry report. The result is a highly original account of key political events that challenges the claims of lessons being learned from recent wars. This book comes at a decisive moment as the ongoing war against Daesh, conflicts in Syria, and Saudi-Iran tensions continue to leave British action in the region as a contemporary reality where lessons from the past could prove invaluable. Louise Kettle is an Assistant Professor at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham.

Review Quotes

Failing to learn historical lessons is not new. As Louise Kettle demonstrates in this absorbing account history is full of enough tantalising clues about the future that government should take heed, but it rarely has in the past and probably won't in the future. As Kettle ably shows, this is a serious mistake and until someone sits up and takes notice, the mistakes of the past will become the mistakes of the future.--Michael Goodman, King's College London

About the Author

Louise Kettle is Assistant Professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. She has won several awards for her work including from the British International History Group, the Royal Historical Society and the British Library.