Suez Deconstructed: An Interactive Study in Crisis, War, and Peacemaking - Hardcover

Zelikow, Philip; May, Ernest

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815735723 ISBN 13: 9780815735724

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 2018

Synopsis

Experiencing a major crisis from different viewpoints, step by step

The Suez crisis of 1956―now little more than dim history for many people―offers a master class in statecraft. It was a potentially explosive Middle East confrontation capped by a surprise move that reshaped the region for years to come. It was a diplomatic crisis that riveted the world’s attention. And it was a short but startling war that ended in unexpected ways for every country involved.

Six countries, including two superpowers, had major roles, but each saw the situation differently. From one stage to the next, it could be hard to tell which state was really driving the action. As in any good ensemble, all the actors had pivotal parts to play.

Like an illustration that uses an exploded view of an object to show how it works, this book uses an unprecedented design to deconstruct the Suez crisis. The story is broken down into three distinct phases. In each phase, the reader sees the issues as they were perceived by each country involved, taking into account different types of information and diverse characteristics of each leader and that leader’s unique perspectives. Then, after each phase has been laid out, editorial observations invite the reader to consider the interplay.

Developed by an unusual group of veteran policy practitioners and historians working as a team, Suez Deconstructed is not just a fresh way to understand the history of a major world crisis. Whether one's primary interest is statecraft or history, this study provides a fascinating step-by-step experience, repeatedly shifting from one viewpoint to another. At each stage, readers can gain rare experience in the way these very human leaders sized up their situations, defined and redefined their problems, improvised diplomatic or military solutions, sought ways to influence each other, and tried to change the course of history.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

In the summer of 1956, after a year of crisis and near war in the Middle East, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, the vital waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The
ensuing crisis, war, and peacemaking riveted the attention of an anxious world. The results seemed to threaten a possible world war, rocked the Middle East, shook alliances, and changed the course of history.

For those who want to learn more about the inner workings of statecraft, the Suez crisis can offer a master class. Six governments played principal parts, each driving the action at one moment or another. Each saw a different problem. Each had its own estimates of the situation and each other. Each scoped out its planned maneuvers using every kind of power.

Suez Deconstructed uses an unprecedented approach. A coordinated team of scholars breaks the crisis down into three distinct phases. In each phase the reader steps from capital to capital, seeing the situation as the leaders saw it. After each part, a set of observations helps the reader reflect on the choices and the way they interact.

Suez Deconstructed is not just a fresh way to understand the history of a major world crisis. Whether one’s primary interest is statecraft or history, this study provides a fascinating step-by-step experience, repeatedly shifting from one viewpoint to another. At each stage, readers gain rare insight into how well each country actually understood the others, and how the leaders defined and redefined their problems, improvised possible diplomatic and military solutions, and tried to change the course of history.

About the Author

Philip Zelikow, the White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia, taught at Harvard University during most of the 1990s. He has experience with high-level statecraft in each of the five administrations from Reagan through Obama, working in various capacities at the State Department, White House, and the Defense Department. He was also the executive director of the 9/11 Commission.

Ernest May was the Charles Warren Professor of History at Harvard University, where he also directed the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. A Navy veteran, he taught about international history for more than fifty years before his death in 2009.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0815735723
• ISBN 13: 9780815735724
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 418