Suez Deconstructed

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.

Statecraft is not only about impersonal forces — it's about intangibles. The Suez crisis is an ideal history from which to glean that understanding, and Suez Deconstructed gives readers an enlightening and engrossing opportunity to gain it before facing a crisis of their own."- Jordan Chandler Hirsch, Texas National Security Review;"Suez Deconstructed provides a unique opportunity for scholars and students of international relations to peer into the minds of key decision makers as they grappled with one of the most complex and consequential crises of the Cold War. Richly rooted in historical detail, this book offers enduring lessons for current and future policymakers, both in the United States and around the world, about what makes for successful diplomacy."- James Steinberg, University Professor, Social Science, International Relations and Law, Syracuse University and former U.S. deputy secretary of state;"M“This ground breaking book revisits the Suez crisis from the perspective of key decision makers in the major capitals. Beyond providing a rich history of a consequential crisis, the book perfectly captures the games that governments were playing, revealing just how much each move reflected an understanding or misunderstanding of how others might respond. This is a valuable contribution to foreign policy analysis and an extraordinary tool for teaching statecraft."- Jeremy Weinstein, professor of political science and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford University; former official at the White House and the U.S. delegation to the United Nations;"This is a thorough, well-written study of the 1956 Suez Crisis, authored in large part by Zelikow (Univ. of Virginia) but with chapters by five other capable scholars. May (Harvard until his death in 2009) earned co-authorship of the book by virtue of involvement in the research project as far back as the 1990s. . . . The authors use existing literature and some archival research to produce the best study so far of the crisis. With its vivid insight into the international politics of this period (and the domestic politics of key countries), Suez Deconstructed will interest many historians, political scientists, policy makers, and sophisticated general readers. Essential."- CHOICE;"The Suez Crisis was a critical and controversial turning point in postwar history, where the global forces of the Cold War, empire, and nationalism collided. Masterfully exploring the perspectives of policymakers from six different capitals, this innovative volume provides new insight into the diplomacy and politics of this complex affair. Clearly written, engaging, and based on deep research in primary and secondary sources, Suez Deconstructed is not only a work of cutting-edge scholarship; it is an ideal teaching tool to help future decision makers understand the complex realities of statecraft and strategy."- Francis J. Gavin, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

• ContentsIntroductionMap: The Middle East of 1956 and Europe's Oil LifelineMap: Israel and Its Neighbors, 1956The World of 1956 Part One: What to Do about Nasser's EgyptMoscow, Jerusalem, Paris London, Washington Observations on Part OnePart Two: What to Do about the CrisisWashington, Cairo, Moscow, Paris, Jerusalem, London Observations on Part TwoPart Three: What to Do about the War Jerusalem, Cairo, Moscow, Paris, Washington, London Final Observations: No End of Lessons About the ContributorsNotesIndex