The Baghdad Pact: Anglo-american Defence Policies in the Middle East, 1950-1959

by B. Kemal Yes Ilbursa

This book sets out to explore the formation of the Baghdad Pact and Anglo-American defence policies in the Middle East, 1950-1959.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2005

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baghdad Pact is more or less what one would expect from an academic work: a detailed, scholarly examination of a very specific topic. It starts off as something that is simple and easy to read, and provides a decent, accessible overview of the subject. As it goes on, however, and begins to delve more deeply into the history of the pact, the author’s style becomes drier, more detailed, and less interesting to the non-specialist. I did appreciate that, at least sometimes, he repeats and summarizes the key points but, as the study progresses, this happens less frequently. When it does happen in later chapters, however, it is almost to the point of becoming overdone, as some points are repeated in back-to-back paragraphs with nearly identical phrasing. Overall, however, it is a well-written and researched study of a somewhat esoteric topic that is often, if not always, accessible to the non-specialist. The author covers the entire history of the pact, from its foundations in the Northern Tier Defense Project, to its formation, through its expansion and decline (although the chapter he calls “decline” seemed like more of a period of ups and downs than a straight decline), and finally to its collapse with the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy in July 1958. The conclusion, although imperfect, does a good job of summarizing all of his main points and conclusions. On the whole, I never got the sense that there was something missing or brushed aside in this work, so if there was ever anything you needed to know about the short-lived Baghdad Pact, you will probably find it in this text.