ABSTRACT

Sir Arthur Hirtzel, the long-serving senior official in the India Office was an old – and a much respected – Middle Eastern hand. Few in Whitehall could rival him in his capacity ‘to get into the mind of the man at the other end of the line.’ Surprisingly, perhaps, Hirtzel never visited the region and never set foot in India, with which he was so intimately connected in an official capacity. As this examination of his role during the First World War and its immediate aftermath shows, Hirtzel’s perspicacity concerning key political and military developments, as well as the opportunities and the constraints presented by the war, was striking. Notable was his percipience in predicting the import of Wilsonian idealism for Britain’s ambitions in the wider Middle Eastern region. So too was his ability to adapt policy to the changing international environment. He also foresaw the considerable difficulties, especially financial pressures, which would arise in Iraq and affect British control there.

摘要

印度办事处长期任职的高级官员亚瑟·希策尔爵士（Arthur Hirtzel）是中东地区的老手，也是备受尊敬的人。在怀特霍尔，很少有人能够以他的能力与他抗衡，“以进入线下那头男人的脑海。” 出乎意料的是，也许希尔兹尔从未访问过该地区，也从未涉足过印度，他以正式身份与印度如此紧密地联系在一起。正如对他在第一次世界大战期间及其后的作用的考察所显示的那样，希茨尔对关键政治和军事发展以及战争带来的机遇和制约的直觉令人震惊。值得注意的是，他敏锐地预言了威尔逊主义唯心主义对于英国在更广泛的中东地区的野心的重要性。他也有能力使政策适应不断变化的国际环境。他还预见了在伊拉克将出现并影响英国对那里的控制的巨大困难，特别是财政压力。