About the Book
The nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956 triggered one of the gravest international crises since the Second World War. The fiftieth anniversary of the Suez crisis in 2006 presented an ideal opportunity to re-visit and reassess this seminal episode in post-war history. Although much has been written on Suez, this study provides fresh perspectives by reflecting the latest research from leading international authorities on the crisis and its aftermath. By drawing on recently released documents, by including previously neglected aspects of Suez, and by reassessing its more familiar ones, the volume makes a key contribution to furthering research on - and understanding of - the crisis.
The volume explores the origins of the crisis, the crisis itself and the aftermath all from a broad perspective. An introduction by the editor presents the current state of the historiography and provides an overview of the debates surrounding the crisis, while the conclusion by Scott Lucas not merely draws the themes of the book together, but also explores the crisis in its regional and international context.
Within the overall context of focussing on the international and military aspects of the crisis, it is an explicit intention to embody in the contributions the multifaceted nature of Suez. Although Britain, as in many ways the principal actor, is strongly represented, there are also highly original chapters on both the regional and international dimensions to the crisis, and crucially the interaction between the two. As well as exploring the role of the main protagonists, essays also deal with American, Jordanian and Turkish reactions to the invasion. The overall result is an innovative, thought-provoking, and wide-ranging reassessment of Suez and its aftermath, which at a time when the Middle East once again holds the world's attention, is particularly appropriate.
Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction, Simon C. Smith; Prelude to the Suez crisis: the rise and fall of British dominance over the Suez Canal, 1869–1956, Steve Morewood; Eden, Churchill and the battle of the Canal Zone, 1951–54, Michael T. Thornhill; Britain and the Suez crisis: the Abadan dimension, Peter J. Beck; Julian Amery and the Suez operation, Sue Onslow; Who to fight in 1956, Egypt or Israel? Operation Musketeer versus Operation Cordage, Eric Grove; French-Israeli relations, 1950–1956: the strategic dimension, Zach Levey; Supporting the brave young king: the Suez crisis and Eisenhower's new approach to Jordan, 1953–1958, Clea Lutz Bunch; A reluctant partner of the US over Suez? Turkey and the Suez crisis, Aysegül Sever; The 1956 Sinai war: a watershed in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, David Tal; When did Nasser expect war? The Suez nationalization and its aftermath in Egypt, Laura M. James; The Suez crisis at the United Nations: the effects for the Foreign Office and British foreign policy, Edward Johnson; In search of 'some big, imaginative plan': the Eisenhower administration and American strategy in the Middle East after Suez, Richard V. Damms; Telling tales out of school: Nutting, Eden and the attempted suppression of No End of a Lesson, Philip Murphy; Post-Suez consequences: Anglo-American relations in the Middle East from Eisenhower to Nixon, Tore T. Petersen; Suez 1956 and the moral disarmament of the British empire, A.J. Stockwell; Conclusion, Scott Lucas; Index.
About the Author :
Simon C. Smith is Professor of History at the University of Hull, UK
Simon C. Smith, Steve Morewood, Michael T. Thornhill, Peter J. Beck, Sue Onslow, Eric Grove, Zach Levey, Clea Lutz Bunch, Aysegül Sever, David Tal, Laura M. James, Edward Johnson, Richard V. Damms, Philip Murphy, Tore T. Petersen, A.J. Stockwell, Scott Lucas.
Review :
Jiri Priban brilliantly challenges us to rethink our conventional ideas about the relationship between morality, culture and law - in particular, constitutional law. In this erudite and compelling book, he takes up the thorniest problems of today's Europe, including the enlargement of the European Union and post-communist constitution-making in Central Europe, and analyses them against the theory of symbolic communication through law. A bold, ambitious, relentlessly intelligent work.'Wojciech Sadurski, Professor in the Department of Law; European University Institute in Florence.'Jiri Priban's rich and sophisticated discussion thoughtfully explores law's complex interactions with morality and politics, and the crucial significance of constitutions in linking legal, moral and political systems. Not least, he highlights major implications for European politics today of the legal and constitutional realities he identifies.'Roger Cotterrell, Anniversary Professor of Legal Theory Queen Mary, University of London'Priban manages to put together a timely exposition of the connection between law, politics and morality, both abstractly and in the context of post-communist Central Europe, through a convincing reworking of his previous theses and and expansion in the direction of a firmer understanding of temporality.'International Journal for the Semiotics of Law
