The Role of Smallness and Responsibility in the Strategic Narratives of British Elites Regarding the Withdrawal from the Gulf Region (1968–1971)

The article examines the discourse of the British political elites regarding the withdrawal from the Gulf region between 1968 and 1971 in order to capture the perception of the smallness of the emerging Gulf monarchies and of the related British responsibility. Analysing the interaction between members of the government and the opposition in the British Parliament, five strategic narratives can be established regarding the withdrawal. The smallness of the emerging Gulf states and British responsibility play different roles in each narrative, arriving to the conclusion that the British elites reproduced and reinforced the different positions of small and large states in the Gulf region, as well as the penetrated nature of the Middle Eastern system. Moreover, the responsibility regarding the possible negative outcomes of the withdrawal was deflected in all strategic narratives in various ways. The article aims to contribute to the investigation of the role of discourses in a post-colonial context.