British Diplomatic Oil Crisis: Contemporary Anglo-Saxon Geopolitical Rivalries in the Persian Gulf: Drawing a Lesson? Or Sir Anthony Eden‘s Delusion of Grandeur.

CHAPTER ONE

IMMEDIATE
BACKGROUND TO THE CRISIS: BRITAIN AND IRAN

To protect her national
interests, political influence and strategic
interests, Great Britain needed to extend her influence beyond the
boundaries of the United Kingdom. This, in previous centuries and to some
degree in this century, has led her to seek direct or indirect domination of
foreign lands. To begin with, the state’s need for expansion will be
discussed.

The theory of state expansionism

The tendency
to expand, on the principle of growth, may characterise all
social organisms. This may also be put as the propensity of states to
expand; that is to enlarge their physical selves, their territory, or their
overseas interests, or their influence beyond their own boundaries. It is a
characteristic which has played a dominant role in the history of
international relations. ‘Every great country, every active people naturally
tends to expand, ‘ 1 wrote the Italian historian,
L. Villari. If the state does not develop it will stagnate or die. In a
developing state, there is population growth, the social structure and the
economy become more complex over time, the trade internally and externally
becomes more diversified and voluminous. These developments increase the sum
of the claims on interests which governments have to promote and defend in
the international system, and yet often without any conscious or formulated
desire for that increase. In addition to the interest of individuals in
foreign trade, the defence of foreign markets and investments in fact become
national interests because they are sources of income and economic security
for many more besides the actual traders and investors.

1. L.
VILLARI, The Expansion of Italy, (London: Faber and Faber,
1930), p.1.

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