History of the International Relations regarding the Suez Crisis

1. THE SUEZ CRISIS
Presentation by Paola Cassio & Marco Berardini

2. THE SUEZ CANAL
• 1854 → The Viceroy of Egypt,
Mohamed Said, permitted to construct
an artificial waterway connecting the
Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
• November 17, 1869 → The Suez Canal
was finally opened
• Mid-1870s → Egypt's shareholdings were bought by British Prime Minister Disraeli
• WWI → Britain declared Egypt a protectorate and blocked Canal access to enemy
ships
• 1936, London → Anglo-Egyptian Treaty:
- Independence of Egypt
- British troops allowed to continue to stay in
the Suez Canal zone until 1956

3. EGYPT VS GREAT BRITAIN
• Decolonization → System of client relationships
between Great Britain and various Middle Eastern
states, but Egypt refused it
• 1951 → Nahas Pasha, leader of the
recently-elected nationalist Wafd party, revoked
the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty
• 1952 → Riots in Cairo + attacks on British property
• July 1952 → Pro-western King Farouk overthrown
by a coup of the Free Officers Movement
Causes of anti-British sentiment :
• British support for the creation of Israel
in 1948 was seen as a betrayal to the
Arab cause
• British occupation of Egypt persisted,
even if it was intended to be temporary

4. NASSER'S NATIONALIZATION OF
THE SUEZ CANAL
 1954 → General M. Neguib replaced by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser
Goals of President Nasser:
However, the US decided that they would not
provide funding for the construction of the dam →
Great Britain and the World Bank also withdrew
their support
• Independence of Egypt → 1954 Suez Canal
Agreement
• Construction of a new high dam at Aswan to
irrigate the Nile valley → In 1956 the US and
Great Britain pledged funding to help finance its
construction
July 26, 1956 → Supported by Soviet arms and money,
Nasser nationalized the Anglo-French Suez Canal Company

5. THE SÈVRES PROTOCOL
 Great Britain wanted to restore its influence in the Middle East
 France believed that Nasser was supporting rebels in the French colony of
Algeria
 Israel was Egypt’s sworn enemy in the Middle East, and its recruitment could
also minimize Israeli pressure on Jordan
• October 22, 1956 - Sèvres → secret meeting for planning a military action
• Sèvres Protocol → with an Israeli invasion,
Great Britain and France could declare that
the safety of Suez was in jeopardy and there
was the need to send troops to Egypt
• Ultimatum:
- Both sides had to withdraw 10 miles (16 km) either side of the Canal
- Egypt had to cede its military bases on the Canal
→ while the Israelis accepted, the Egyptians refused and faced the British
and French air-raids

6. ROLE OF THE UN AND THE US
• The US introduced to the Security Council a
resolution which demanded an Israeli withdrawal
from Egypt and called on UN members to refrain from
the use of force → British + French veto
• The General Assembly urged a ceasefire and for the
allied forces to withdraw from Egypt → Israel agreed
to the ceasefire: Great Britain and France could no
longer portray themselves as the peacekeepers
• Formation of a UN Emergency Force → no
other alternative for Great Britain and France
than to oblige to the ceasefire
• Dominant influence of the US: Eisenhower at
first suspicious, then informed about the
secret talks at Sèvres → British and French
troops were withdrawn just before Christmas
• Foreign relations fiasco for the British Empire:
“the lion’s last roar”

7. A turning point year for the evolution of
international relations:
• Hungary Revolt
• Suez Crisis
WHAT IS 1956 FOR THE EVOLUTION
OF THE COLD WAR?
The Superpowers USA and USSR had
now an undiscussed supremacy over
the globe and the European colonial
powers were being more and more
excluded by international affairs

8. THE US ADMINISTRATION APPROACH
BEFORE THE SUEZ CRISIS
• There was a strong interest by the US in keeping Communism away from the
international strategic areas such as Middle East (similar to the containment
theory by Truman)
• The Baghdad Pact (1955) was stipulated for the US strategic control on the
area as well as economic purposes
• At the beginning, the US seemed inclined to offer funds for the building of
Aswan Dam as requested by Nasser; negotiations talks started, but Great Britain
distrusted Egypt ambitions
However, several circumstances led to the crisis of the following year:
- Nasser’s position in favour of non-aligned countries and as the main leader of
Arab nationalism was uncomfortable for the Western powers
- In September 1955 Nasser accepted to trade with Czechoslovakia in exchange
for weapons and military equipment coming from the USSR; closer relationship
with the Soviet Union; the US refused to help Egypt

9. The US administration did not react
positively to the Sèvres Protocol and
managed to tackle the situation in different
ways:
• By means of economic and financial
pressures on GB and France
• By calling on the Uniting For Peace
Resolution 337 in the Security Council
• By recalling the UN Charter moral
principles
• By strengthening the role of the Executive
going beyond the Congress consultation
• By supporting a non-military intervention
but rather a diplomatic solution
Khrushchev, along with the Premier of the
Soviet Union Bulganin, announced that the
USSR would use nuclear weapons if the
ceasefire had not been respected by Israel,
France and GB

10.  Eisenhower Doctrine: a doctrine elaborated by the President Eisenhower
according to which the US would provide aids and economic support for all
those countries in the region affected by the Soviet Union military threat,
even allowing a US armed reaction
 In the same period, the USSR elaborated a plan, the so called “Shepilov
Plan”, in order to resolve any future conflict in a more diplomatic and softer
way as well as not to interfere in the domestic affairs of the Arab countries

11. WHAT IS THE LEGACY OF THE SUEZ CRISIS
FOR THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS?
Since then, the globe would be under the control of the two superpowers, USA and
USSR, throughout the entire Cold War period, and no longer would the European
colonial powers exercise the same authority as they used to.
Middle East found itself more fragmented and under the strategic control of both
USA and USSR, which would defend their own interests and control different areas
by several proxy wars and regional alliances.
Israel particularly would impose himself as an increasingly powerful State supported
by the US and, therefore, endowed with military and economic capability.