Abstract:

Thanks to the now-infamous 1953 conspiracy to oust Iran’s prime minister, Mohammed Mosaddeq, the prevailing wisdom is that Britain and America colluded in the Middle East. In his talk James Barr will challenge this assumption, arguing the opposite was in fact the case: in the quarter century following the battle of El Alamein in 1942, Britain and America were invariably competitors and often outright rivals.

About the speaker:

Mr James Barr read history at Oxford and  returned, as a visiting fellow, to St Antony’s in 2008, to research the book that became A Line In The Sand, which was published in 2011. Lords of the Desert picks up roughly where A Line In The Sand left off, but whereas that last book dwelt on Anglo-French rivalry in the Middle East, in this new one he has turned his attention to the Anglo-American relationship. He is a visiting fellow at King’s but has also worked in journalism, politics, running his own business and as a political officer at the British Embassy in Paris. 

Signed copies of the 'Lords of the Desert' book will be available to purchase after the event for £12 (cash only).