2025/06/15 by Özge Aslanmirza · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · #Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics
paper · doi:10.1080/03086534.2025.2517133
openalex publication_date 2025/06/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This article introduces the concept of ‘provident imperialism’ to analyse Britain’s calculated strategies during World War I, focusing on the de Bunsen Committee of 1915. Through linguistic contextualism, it examines the language used in committee reports, official documents, and memoirs to reveal how Britain’s officialdom advocated for indirect control, selective annexation, and cooperative arrangements to maintain dominance in the Ottoman Empire in preparation for the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The study highlights how political rhetoric legitimised Britain’s ambitions while addressing the territorial, diplomatic, and administrative complexities of inter-imperial settlement in the Middle East. By analysing primary sources, including the Hansard Papers and Foreign Office reports this article uncovers British imperialism’s semantic and pragmatic dynamics, demonstrating how linguistic strategies shaped policies to sustain Britain’s influence. This approach provides a nuanced perspective on imperialism, bridging formal and informal practices and contributing to the imperial history of Britain in the Middle East.