What Led the United States to Encourage Authoritarian Governments in Iran and Saudi Arabia?

Abstract

This study investigates the process by which the United States became the main supporter of authoritarian governments in Saudi Arabia and Iran during World War II. Prior to the war the U.S. had little involvement in the Middle East, but that changed during the war as America slowly but surely became a superpower all over the world. Additionally before the war the British were the main foreign backers of Reza Shah in Iran and the ruling monarchy in Saudi Arabia. However, the decline of British power all over the world resulted in Washington taking London’s place as the dominant world decision maker. This study demonstrates how the Americans took over the role of supporting these regimes from the British and how in some ways American support for these regimes made them even more authoritarian. The text explains how events in World War II caused this to happen and how it impacted the societies of Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as the future.