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Political Science Diplomacy

The West and the Birth of Bangladesh

Foreign Policy in the Face of Mass Atrocity

by (author) Richard Pilkington

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Aug 2021
Category
Diplomacy, History & Theory, Middle Eastern
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774862004
    Publish Date
    Aug 2021
    List Price
    $32.99
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774861977
    Publish Date
    Aug 2021
    List Price
    $89.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774861984
    Publish Date
    Apr 2022
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

In 1971, authorities in Islamabad perpetrated mass atrocities in East Pakistan in an attempt to thwart a struggle for autonomy by terrorizing the local population into submission. The West and the Birth of Bangladesh explores the decision-making processes and ethical debates in Washington, Ottawa, and London during the crucial first few months of the crisis. US president Richard Nixon and his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, favoured appeasement of Islamabad. The Canadian government was unwilling to hazard bilateral ties with Pakistan. Under public pressure, only the UK showed somewhat greater willingness to coerce Islamabad into ending its oppressive actions. Richard Pilkington analyzes the interplay of US, Canadian, and British responses toward East Pakistan, and the available policy options. This insightful book reveals how, even as human rights movements began to emerge in the West, blinkered government actors there remained too preoccupied with protecting national interests to take firm action during the crisis.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Richard Pilkington is an independent scholar of genocide studies and US foreign relations, and has taught at both the University of Toronto and Concordia University, Montreal. He has published articles in the Journal of Genocide Research and the Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity.