Sir Charles Belgrave and the rise and fall of Bahrain’s National Union Committee : January 1953 to April 1957

Abdulla, Hamad (2016) Sir Charles Belgrave and the rise and fall of Bahrain’s National Union Committee : January 1953 to April 1957. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

The period between 1953 and 1957 saw Bahrain at the zenith of the political struggle between Sir Charles Belgrave, the British Adviser to the Government of Bahrain appointed by the Ruler, and the local nationalist movement. The Adviser had exercised considerable influence and had managed various facets of government administration since his arrival in 1926. The Movement sought to limit Belgrave’s authority through a set of demands for reform. These demands were to develop into a call for his dismissal. The Movement arose during the time that nationalism regionally (and in particular its Egyptian brand) was on the rise in the Arab World. This era was also marked by an awakening of the Soviet Union’s interest in the Middle East and its resources as it established a foothold in the region through Egypt. The conflict in Bahrain represented a model of the global events of the Cold War as it threatened the cohesiveness of the Baghdad Pact and was among a series of events that fed into Britain’s road to the 1956 Suez War.
This thesis offers insight into the political struggle as it traces the development of the nationalist movement; the major drives that steered it, particularly that of nationalism in Egypt; the role of the Adviser and whether his actions facilitated British policy or affected it negatively. It also explores British policy which sought to strike a balance between the Ruler, who wished to retain his Adviser, and the nationalists while preserving British interest in the region.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of History
Depositing User:	Jackie Webb
Date Deposited:	23 Nov 2016 11:46
Last Modified:	23 Nov 2016 11:50
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/61483
DOI:

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