Suez and After
Strange, Susan. “Suez and After.” In Year Book of World Affairs 1957, edited by George W. Keeton, Georg Schwarzenberger, 76-103. London: Stevens, 1957.
Noting that the underlying cause of the Suez crisis was distrust (or even fear of) Egyptian nationalism, Strange explores the idea of a Britain or France had a ‘vital interest’ in the international (rather than national control) of the Suez Canal. While the military costs might have been open to some debate before the action, she argues that the diplomatic problems that Suez prompted were easily foreseeable. Suez revealed the weakness of Britain and France as declining powers but overall Strange concludes that while some minor illusions had been shattered, the lessons of the crisis do not seem to have been appreciated by politicians in Britain or France.
Keywords: Security; International Relations