The Twilight of the British Empire ─ British Intelligence and Counter-Subversion in the Middle East, 1948-63

This book reveals, for the first time, a hitherto unexplored dimension of Britain's engagement with the post-war Middle East: the counter-subversive policies and measures conducted by the British Intelligence and Security Services and he Information Research Department (IRD) of the Foreign Office, Britain's secret propaganda apparatus. Between 1948 and 1963, British policymakers used intelligence as a tool to maintain British influence in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran.

Discover how Britain tried to influence regional intelligence and security services and shape their approach to countering communist subversion. However, amidst disagreements over the nature of the threat and levels of brutality used to counter it, intelligence and secret liasons ultimately failed to protect Britain's waning influence.

Chikara Hashimoto (1975-2016) was Assistant Professor in International Relations at the University of Sharjah, UAE. He authored two journal articles, published in The International History Review and Intelligence and National Security. His PhD dissertation won The BRISMES Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize for the Best PhD Dissertation on A Middle Eastern Topic for 2014.