Table Of ContentTHE NEAR EAST
AND THE
GREAT POWERS
THE NEAR EAST
AND THE
GREAT POWERS
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY RALPH BUNCHE
EDITED BY RICHARD N. FRYE
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
19 5 1
COPYRIGHT, 1951
BY THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
DISTRIBUTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
GEOFFREY CUMBERLEGE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
It should be unnecessary to justify a publication on the contem-
porary Near East at the present time.* Though the Far East has
usurped the headlines of late, all nations in Asia are vitally impor-
tant as members of the free world. This is especially true of the
countries of the Near East, rich in oil and strategically located.
Many are the problems, internal as well as international, which
beset the peoples of this region of the earth, and in the year 1951
their problems have become our problems. It is incumbent upon
Americans, with our world-wide responsibilities, to better under-
stand the peoples of the Near East. This we can do only with
knowledge, sympathy, and—as Charles Malik says—with love. But
it is a two-way proposition; the peoples of the Near East must also
understand us. H. A. R. Gibb points out the need for mutual under-
standing, mutual respect, and a concept of mutual service, if we
are to succeed in our relations with the Near East.
The core of the Near East is the Arab world and Israel, and
we have concentrated on that core in this book. Authorities on the
Near East, from the academic profession, from government, and
from business, have contributed to make this publication more
representative of current thinking about the area. Many problems
have been left untouched, for their number is legion, but we have
felt that a combination of general discussions with papers on special
topics would provide a better understanding of the area as a whole.
Thus topics range from the broad, philosophical discussion of
Charles Malik to the detailed account of the struggle for unity in
Syria and Iraq by Majid Khadduri.
* In American usage, the designations "Near East" and "Middle East"
are synonymous, with the latter more popular since World War II. I have
preferred the former since we are not concerned with Iran or Turkey in
this book, and since it also avoids confusion for non-American readers.
PREFACE
The substance of the book was first presented in the form of
papers and remarks by participants in a conference entitled The
Great Powers and the Near East, held at Harvard University on
the afternoons and evenings of August 7, 8, and 9 of 1950 as part
of the Summer School program of conferences. It was originally
conceived by Professor William Y. Elliott, Director of the Harvard
Summer School, as a supplement to the program of courses on the
contemporary Near East.
The proceedings of the conference were recorded on tape, but it
was decided that the papers would not be published as they were
delivered. Rather the material would be rearranged and presented
in a more logical order. In this way kindred topics would be
grouped together and greater unity would be achieved in the pub-
lication. Several papers were enlarged after the conference, so what
is here presented is more than what was heard by the audiences
during the six sessions of the conference.
The program of the conference—with the order of papers and
remarks on them as delivered—is given in Appendix II.
The views expressed in the various papers are those of the several
contributors and do not represent the opinion or preferential selec-
tivity of the editor. I have not changed the colloquial flavor of some
of the papers.
I wish to thank again all of the participants in the conference
and the staff of the Summer School. Without their aid and co-
operation the Summer School courses, the conference, and this
publication would have been impossible.
RICHARD N. FRYE
vi
Contents
Introduction · Ralph Bunche, Director, Department of Trusteeship
of the United Nations 1
I · THE GREAT POWERS
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS
Introductory · H. A. R. Gibb, Laudian Professor of Arabic, Oxford
United Nations 9
The Near East between East and West · Charles Malik, Minister of
Lebanon to the United States and Representative of Lebanon at the
University 11
The Near East in the World · William Thomson, Professor of Arabic,
Harvard University 24
The Pattern of Great Power Impact on the Near East - Harvey P.
Hall, Editor, The Middle East Journal 33
Economic Development and the Near East • George G. McGhee,
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and
African Affairs 43
The Near Eastern Economy in the World, and Its Possibilities of De-
velopment · Charles P. Issawi, Secretariat of the United Nations 57
The Nature of Soviet Propaganda in the Near East · Leonid I.
Strakhovsky, Professor of Russian, Toronto University 65
Conclusion - Ralph Bunche 70
CULTURAL FACTORS
A Cultural Relations Policy in the Near East · Mortimer Graves, Ex-
ecutive Secretary, American Council of Learned Societies 74
The Middle East Institute: Its Inception and Its Place in American In-
ternational Studies · George C. Keiser, Chairman, Board of Gov-
ernors, The Middle East Institute 80
Oriental Studies in the United Kingdom • H. A. R. Gibb 85
vii
CONTENTS
II · THE NEAR EAST
THE PALESTINE PROBLEM
The United Nations and Palestine · J. C. Hurewitz, Lecturer at the Center
of Israeli Studies, Columbia University 91
Israel and the United States · Moshe Keren, Counselor, Embassy of
Israel 106
The Palestine Problem · Ralph Bunche 114
THE ARAB WORLD
Some Aspects of Oil in the Middle East · E. L. DeGolyer, Director,
American Petroleum Institute 119
The Scheme of Fertile Crescent Unity: A Study in Inter-Arab Rela-
tions · Majid Khadduri, Professor of Middle East Studies, School
of Advanced International Studies 137
Notes on Labor in Egypt, 1950 · Moshe Perlmann, Professor of
Islamics, New School of Social Research and Dropsie College 178
Remarks by Charles P. Issawi 187
Conclusion · H. A. R. Gibb 193
Appendices • I. Discussions II. Program of the Conference 199
Index 207
viii
INTRODUCTION
