The Shatt-al-Arab Boundary Question: A Legal Reappraisal

The persistent problems presented by territorial disputes are are among the most important of our time. The `Falklands War' and the war between Iran and Iraq are but recent illustrations of the potential for mischief which attaches to issues concerning boundaries and the validity of title to territory (including maritime rights). The significance of these issues is in inverse proportion to the level of understanding exhibited by the media and by political scientists. For the most part, it has been left to lawyers and geographers, with the occasional historian, to study particular disputes. The proper study of a boundary dispute calls for the careful teasing out of the strands of history, politics, diplomacy and law which go to make up the special universe of each boundary dispute. Dr Kaikobad has brought the necessary qualities of patience and scholarship to his task, and he has used an impressive variety of sources. The result is not only a major work on the background to the Gulf War but a contribution of quality to the literature on territorial disputes, to the development of a typology of disputes, and to diplomatic history.