MESOPOTAMIA NEWS TODAYS BOOK RECOMMENDATION

 Review Elliot, Matthew, ‘Independent Iraq’ The Monarchy & British Influence, 1941-1958, London, New York: Tauris Academic Studies, 1996 

6 May 2018 – Independent Iraq The Monarchy & British Influence, 1941-58 is a dense and detailed historic tome on the Iraqi government from 1941 until the 1958 coup. The author Matthew Elliot focuses upon the interplay between the monarchy, the Iraqi parliament and premiers, and the British embassy. Elliot argues that after the 1941 government of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani was removed by a British invasion during World War II for its ties to the Axis a new period of Iraqi politics emerged. The Pan-Arab military was removed, there was less political and tribal violence and instability, and London took a firmer stance trying to shape the future of the country. The two major problems the country and the British faced were reforming the government and economy. www.mesop.de