What Was The Suez Crisis?
The Suez Crisis is a political and military event that happened in Egypt in 1956. It began when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, a crucial commercial and military transit route for many countries, particularly the United Kingdom and France, who then participated in the crisis with Israel. This article will discuss the lead-up to the Suez Crisis and its consequences, political and economic.
Background and Causes of The Suez Crisis
In 1952, a revolution in Egypt removed the British-backed King, Farouk, from power and gave rise to a new President tasked with social and economic reform, Gamal Abdel Nasser. One of Nasser’s first reforms was the nationalization of several industries and foreign companies. However, when Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal in July of 1956, the United Kingdom and France were concerned that this would impair access to oil supplies in the region. Concurrently, the UK and France were allied with Israel, and the situation in the region had been fraught, as the Arab states around Israel had refused to recognize it.
In response to Nasser’s nationalization of the canal, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations all sought diplomatic solutions to the crisis. The UN sent a solver, Dag Hammarskjold, to negotiate a settlement, while the United States proposed the so-called “Morgan Plan,” in which the Suez Canal would stay in Egyptian hands, but be operated and maintained with international participation. However, the United Kingdom and France rejected the Morgan Plan, and instead planned a three-way military intervention with Israel, colloquially known as the “Tripartite Aggression.”
Lead-up to the Suez Crisis
Prior to the Suez Crisis, the UN had passed its first anti-colonialism resolution on December 14, 1956. The resolution forbade the aggressive use of force in international relations, and was a significant alarm to the UK and France. A few days later, on October 29, 1956, the UK and France began secret talks with Israel to plan a military intervention in Egypt. The UK and France then issued a joint ultimatum to both Egypt and Israel urging them to withdraw their troops and forces from the area. When this ultimatum expired on October 29, a few days later, the joint invasion was initiated. By November 5, the three aggressor forces had taken control of the Suez Canal.
International Reaction to the Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis sparked intense international discussion and debates, including those in the United Nations. On November 2, 1955, the UN’s General Assembly voted for an emergency session to condemn the aggression and call for an immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces. The United Nations Emergency Force was also created to police a ceasefire between Egypt and Israel.
The Soviet Union proposed a resolution to the UN asking for the withdrawal of all forces, claiming that their presence in the region was a breach of the UN charter. The resolution was defeated, leading the Soviet Union to advocate for the use of boycotts against the UK and France. In response, the US opposed such measures and proposed new resolutions calling for a ceasefire and the creation of a UN peacekeeping force in the region.
The US was closely following the Suez Crisis, in large part due to its policy of Cold War containment. The US sought to keep any further expansion of the Soviet Union or Communism in check, and the presence of Soviet arms in Egypt could potentially threaten US interests in the region.
Consequences of The Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis had a number of political and economic consequences.
Political Consequences
The Suez Crisis was seen as a humiliation to the UK and France, whose intervention was economically and politically costly. In Egypt, Nasser was seen as a hero and megaphone for pan-Arabism. He used the incident to increase his popularity in the region and served to shift the balance of power away from the West and towards the Soviet Union.
Other important political consequences of the Suez Crisis include the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement. After the conflict, newly independent countries, such as India, Egypt, and Yugoslavia, declared their stance of non-alignment in international politics. This was seen as a move away from either the US or the USSR, as a form of de-colonization, and a sign of solidarity between the newly independent nations of the world.
Economic Consequences
The Suez Crisis was a major economic event, as the Suez Canal was a key international trade route. The closure of the canal led to the displacement of hundreds of international ships, and significant financial losses for some of the countries involved. The direct costs of the crisis to the UK and France were estimated to be in the billions.
The Suez Crisis also had significant rippling economic effects, such as the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by some Arab countries in response to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) austerity measures in response to the Suez Crisis. This organization helped to set oil prices and shift the balance of international economic power away from the developed nations of the West, usually known collectively as the Global North.
The Suez Crisis was a momentous political and economic event that shaped much of the 20th century. With the UK and France’s joint military intervention, and the proliferation of boycotts and sanctions, it is clear that the conflict was a significant source of tension. The resulting outcomes had a far-reaching effect on the balance of power, politics, and economics in the region. The Suez Crisis also helped to cement the role of the United Nations as the ultimate arbiter in conflicts, and was a major influence for international solidarity between newly independent countries.
