Graduation Date
12-2017
Document Type
Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
Department or Program Chair
Jordan Lieser, PhD
First Reader
Jordan Lieser, PhD
Abstract
The nationalization of the Suez Canal by the Egyptians in 1956 was an international controversy. As history, the topic has been just as controversial among scholars; however events such as: the planning of the Aswan Dam, the Protocol of Sèvres, the Bandung Conference, and the Baghdad Pact have helped crystalize the perspective and significance of the Suez Crisis. The United States dealings in Egypt during the Suez Crisis, and subsequent relations with Abdel Nasser, cemented United States Cold War foreign policy, culminating in the passing of the Eisenhower Doctrine. While these events were the enactment of containment policy, they also shaped the scholarly opinion on the cause, effects, and conclusions of the Suez Crisis. This paper utilizes State Department Records, a thorough historiographical survey, additional related primary and secondary sources, and international sources such as Nasser, My Husband by Tahia Gamal Abdel Nasser or Vernon Bogdanor’s continuing series of lectures on the Suez Crisis. From this wide analysis of sources, it is clear that the United States dealings in the Middle East created a hierarchy of foreign policy goals and values, which explain U.S. policy. Furthermore, U.S. intervention, and Nasser’s ability as a nationalist icon, was the catalyst that pushed Nasser’s Egypt further towards the Communist camp.
Included in
Diplomatic History Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Political History Commons