The Suez Crisis at 70: History and Contemporary Relevance
The Suez Crisis at 70: History and Contemporary Relevance
The 1956 Suez Crisis remains a pivotal turning point in the evolution of the modern Middle East and world politics. Prompted by Egypt's nationalization of the canal and the subsequent tripartite military campaign by Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, the crisis laid bare a shifting global equilibrium, accelerating the sunset of European imperial dominance while elevating the United States and the Soviet Union as the primary arbiters of international affairs. This webinar will analyze the origins and multi-layered consequences of the conflict, tracing its influence on regional statecraft, Arab nationalist movements, and Cold War diplomacy. Additionally, the conversation will bridge historical analysis with contemporary geopolitical realities. Panelists will address the enduring lessons of Suez for twenty-first-century statecraft, specifically regarding great-power competition, the strategic security of global waterways, and the ongoing contest over sovereignty and regional order in the Middle East.
Speakers:
Prof. Peter Hahn is an American historian and Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor of History at The Ohio State University. He is a leading scholar of U.S. foreign policy and diplomatic history, with particular expertise in U.S.–Middle East relations. He has authored multiple books and numerous articles on American diplomacy, Iraq, and the Middle East, and his research has been supported by organizations including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fulbright Program. Prof. Hahn previously served as dean of Arts and Humanities in 2015-21 and as chair of the History Department in 2006-15. In 2002-15, he served as executive director of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), a professional society of some 1,400 members residing in 44 countries. In 2025, he was named a Distinguished University Professor, the university’s highest faculty honor.
Dr. Yagil Henkin is a military historian specializing in urban warfare, counterinsurgency, irregular warfare, and Israeli military history. He is a lecturer in the Shalem College Department of Strategy, Diplomacy, and Security, and a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. Dr. Henkin also teaches military thought, history, and strategy at the IDF Command and Staff College. He is the author of The 1956 Suez War and the New World Order in the Middle East: Exodus in Reverse (2015). He earned his MA in military history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his PhD in military history from Bar-Ilan University.
The 1956 Suez Crisis remains a pivotal turning point in the evolution of the modern Middle East and world politics. Prompted by Egypt's nationalization of the canal and the subsequent tripartite military campaign by Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, the crisis laid bare a shifting global equilibrium, accelerating the sunset of European imperial dominance while elevating the United States and the Soviet Union as the primary arbiters of international affairs. This webinar will analyze the origins and multi-layered consequences of the conflict, tracing its influence on regional statecraft, Arab nationalist movements, and Cold War diplomacy. Additionally, the conversation will bridge historical analysis with contemporary geopolitical realities. Panelists will address the enduring lessons of Suez for twenty-first-century statecraft, specifically regarding great-power competition, the strategic security of global waterways, and the ongoing contest over sovereignty and regional order in the Middle East.
Speakers:
Prof. Peter Hahn is an American historian and Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor of History at The Ohio State University. He is a leading scholar of U.S. foreign policy and diplomatic history, with particular expertise in U.S.–Middle East relations. He has authored multiple books and numerous articles on American diplomacy, Iraq, and the Middle East, and his research has been supported by organizations including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fulbright Program. Prof. Hahn previously served as dean of Arts and Humanities in 2015-21 and as chair of the History Department in 2006-15. In 2002-15, he served as executive director of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), a professional society of some 1,400 members residing in 44 countries. In 2025, he was named a Distinguished University Professor, the university’s highest faculty honor.
Dr. Yagil Henkin is a military historian specializing in urban warfare, counterinsurgency, irregular warfare, and Israeli military history. He is a lecturer in the Shalem College Department of Strategy, Diplomacy, and Security, and a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. Dr. Henkin also teaches military thought, history, and strategy at the IDF Command and Staff College. He is the author of The 1956 Suez War and the New World Order in the Middle East: Exodus in Reverse (2015). He earned his MA in military history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his PhD in military history from Bar-Ilan University.