Looking for advice regarding my History & Politics/IR personal statement...

Go to Open Days at both - listen to the different subject presentations, and talks about their admissions process, and ask questions. You have until at least September, and potentially next January, to work out where and what to apply for, and how to balance these applications.

Hi, I’m currently studying International Relations and Arabic at SOAS, and I don’t think your interest in the U.S. would hinder your application. IR as an academic field originated in the Anglo-American world, so a lot of its theories, practices, and scholarship are rooted in that context. This means the U.S. is inherently relevant to the study of IR, even in regions like the Middle East and East Asia.
Moreover, historically, the U.S. has played a significant role in shaping both regions' politics and maintains a robust military presence across them. For example, its involvement in the Cold War, its alliances with countries like Japan and South Korea, and its interventions in the Middle East (such as the Gulf Wars and the Arab-Israeli conflict) are all critical to understanding the dynamics of these areas. While SOAS focuses on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, we still study the U.S. and this provides important context for international relations and global power structures.
If you decide to include the U.S. in your personal statement, I’d recommend framing it in a way that shows how it connects to your broader interests in the Middle East and East Asia. This could demonstrate your ability to think critically about global interconnections, which is a key skill in both History and IR.
Good luck with your application. If you have any other questions about IR at SOAS, feel free to ask me!

Generally I've found universities to be fairly accommodating when it comes to personal statements and how closely they align with the subject you are applying for. With politics in particular its very common for people to apply to slightly different courses, i.e History and Politics as well as Politics and International Relations. Universities are well aware of this.
Best thing is just to find areas where all these subjects interact which is normally pretty easy as Politics is so integrated with other subjects like IR and history. Some universities will also allow you to send them there own individual personal statements though this is something you should check with the Admissions Department before you apply. I would just say as well that the more competitive the course is to get into the more they are likely to want a personal statement focussed entirely on that course. Hope this helps.