As Iran and the shah adjusted to life after the coup, the monarch tried to solidify his ties to the United States. This entailed military support from America and Iran’s renewed commitment to the US side in the Cold War. Iran created an internal security force, SAVAK, trained in part by America. The shah clamped down on Communist activities and confronted rising Islamic dissent with violence. At the same, the Shah pursued social programs and launched the White Revolution, which America supported. However, its platform, especially women’s suffrage and land reform, triggered widespread opposition. Ayatollah Khomeini emerged as the leader of Islamist dissent in 1963 and was eventually exiled. America and Iran had to brace themselves for the fallout of these events.

Chapter 6 explores how ideas about history and geography shaped Turkey’s relations with NATO and the Arab world. After joining NATO by de-emphasizing the alliance’s geographic character, Turkey went on to embrace NATO membership as proof of its European identity. Subsequently, Turkish and American officials clashed over what it meant for Turkey to be a “bridge between East and West.” During the 1950s, Turkey’s initial sympathy toward the Arab world quickly transformed into hostility as Arab nationalism took a pro-Soviet turn. As a result, Arabs who were initially seen as victims of British imperialism suddenly, in a Cold War context, became agents of Soviet imperialism instead.