A Rift in the Atlantic Alliance: Suez Crisis

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 1, 149 - 174, 30.06.2025

Ahmet Karafil

https://doi.org/10.26513/tocd.1620116

Abstract

In 1956, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser’s decision to nationalise the Suez Canal caused a major crisis on the international stage and became one of the focal points of Cold War-era rivalry. This crisis was not only limited to the tension between Egypt and the former colonial powers Britain and France but also affected the Atlantic alliance and the changing balance of power after the Second World War in the context of the Cold War order. The crisis caused deep strategic divisions within the Atlantic alliance between the United States, Britain and France and led to the questioning of the alliance’s trust, cohesion and spirit of solidarity. This study aims to analyse the repercussions of the Suez Crisis on the Atlantic order through its recent historical background, development and consequences by placing it in a theoretical framework on the axis of the question “why do states conflict within alliances?”. Based on the analysis of historical data and secondary sources, the study aims to make a meaningful contribution to the literature by revealing how the Suez Canal became a source of crisis within the framework of its strategic importance on both regional and global scales and to what extent it shaped the Atlantic alliance relations during the Cold War period.

Keywords

Suez Crisis, Atlantic Alliance, USA, Britain, France

Atlantik İttifakı'nda Çatlak: Süveyş Krizi

Abstract

1956 yılında Mısır lideri Cemal Abdülnasır’ın Süveyş Kanalı’nı millileştirme kararı, uluslararası sahnede büyük bir kriz doğurmuş ve Soğuk Savaş dönemi rekabetinin odak noktalarından biri haline gelmiştir. Bu kriz, yalnızca Mısır ile eski sömürge güçleri İngiltere ve Fransa arasındaki gerilimle sınırlı kalmamış, Atlantik İttifakı’nı ve İkinci Dünya Savaşı sonrası değişen güç dengelerini Soğuk Savaş düzeni bağlamında etkilemiştir. Kriz, Atlantik düzeni içerisinde Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, İngiltere ve Fransa arasında derin stratejik ayrışmalara neden olmuş ve ittifakın güven, uyum ve dayanışma ruhunun sorgulanmasına yol açmıştır. Bu çalışma, Süveyş Krizi’nin yakın tarihsel arka planı, gelişimi ve sonuçları üzerinden Atlantik düzeni üzerindeki yansımalarını “ittifaklar içinde devletler neden çatışır?” sorusu ekseninde kuramsal bir çerçeveye oturtarak analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma, tarihsel veriler ve ikincil kaynakların analizine dayanarak, Süveyş Kanalı’nın hem bölgesel hem de küresel ölçekte taşıdığı stratejik önem çerçevesinde nasıl bir kriz kaynağı haline geldiğini ve Soğuk Savaş dönemi Atlantik İttifakı ilişkilerini hangi boyutlarda şekillendirdiğini ortaya koyarak literatüre anlamlı bir katkı sunmayı hedeflemektedir.

Keywords

Süveyş Krizi, Atlantik İttifakı, ABD, İngiltere, Fransa

References

• Bozo, F. (2010). France, “Gaullism,” and the Cold War. M. P. Leffler & O. A. Westad (Ed.), The Cambridge history of the Cold War: Vol. II - crises and detente (ss. 158-178). Cambridge University Press.
• Calleo, D. P. (1987). Beyond American hegemony: The future of the Western Alliance. Basic Book.
• Catterall, P. (2006). The singularity of Suez in post-war Anglo-French relations: Une entente mal entendue. A. Capet (Ed.), Britain, France and the entente cordiale since 1904 (ss. 124-142). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Cleveland, W. L. (2008). Modern Ortadoğu tarihi. M. Harmancı (Çev.) İstanbul: Agora Kitaplığı.
• Devereux, D. R. (2009). The end of empires: Decolonization and its repercussions. K. Larres (Ed.), A Companion to Europe since 1945 (ss. 113-132). Wiley-Blackwell.
• Dinan, D. (2009). Avrupa Birliği Tarihi. H. Akay (Çev.). İstanbul: Kitap Yayınevi.
• Dougherty, J. E. (1979). The Atlantic Community – The psychological milieu. W. F. Hahn & R. L. Pfaltzgraff (Ed.), Atlantic Community in crisis / A redefinition of the transatlantic relationship (ss. 30-51). Pergamon Press.
• Dunbabin, J. P. D. (2013). The Cold War: The great powers and their allies. Routledge.
• Ellison, J. (2006). De Gaulle and Anglo-French mesentente, 1958-67. A. Capet (Ed.). Britain, France and the entente cordiale since 1904 (ss. 143-161). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Eznack, L. (2012). Crises in the Atlantic Alliance: Affect and relations among NATO members. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Fordham University. (1957). Internet modern history sourcebook President Eisenhower: The Eisenhower Doctrine on the Middle East, a message to congress. (1957, Ocak 5). https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1957eisenhowerdoctrine.asp.
• Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955-1957, Vol. XVI, Suez Crisis, July 26 – December 31, 1956. (1990). Washington: United States Government Printing Office.
• Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Vol. XIII, Western Europe and Canada. (2018). Washington: United States Government Printing Office.
• Giauque, J. G. (2002). Grand designs and visions of unity – The atlantic power and the reorganization of Western Europe, 1955-1963. The University of Carolina Press.
• Gündoğdu E. & Kaya, O. (2023). Neoklasik realist teori perspektifinden Türkiye’nin 1956 Süveyş Krizi’ne yönelik dış politikasının analizi. Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi, 10(1), 179-216. https://doi.org/10.26513/tocd.1273636.
• Hahn, P. L. (2006). Securing the Middle East: The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 36(1), 38-47. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00285.x
• Hansard. (1956a). Suez Canal. (1956, Temmuz 30). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1956/jul/30/suez-canal.
• Hansard. (1956b). Middle East (Situation). (1956, Ekim 31). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1956/oct/31/middle-east-situation#S5CV0558P0_19561031_HOC_243.
• Hitchcock, W. I. (2008). The ghost of crises past: The troubled alliance in historical perspective. J. Anderson, G. J. Ikenberry & T. Risse (Ed.), The End of the West?: Crisis and Change in the Atlantic Order (ss. 53-81). Cornell University Press.
• Ikenberry, G. J. (2008). Explaining crises and change in transatlantic relations: An introduction. J. Anderson, G. J. Ikenberry, & T. Risse (Ed.), The end of the West? Crisis and change in the Atlantic order (ss. 1–27). Cornell University Press.
• Jackson, I. (2009). The Cold War: The Western European perspective. K. Larres (Ed.), A companion to Europe since 1945 (ss. 47-66). Wiley-Blackwell.
• Kardaş, T. (2007). Güvenlik: kimin güvenliği ve nasıl?. Z. Dağı (Ed.), Uluslararası politikayı anlamak / “Ulus-devlet”ten küreselleşmeye (ss. 125-152). Alfa Yayınları.
• Kissenger, H. (2000). Diplomasi. İ. H. Kurt (Çev.). İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları.
• Krebs, R. R. (1999). NATO and the Greco-Turkish conflict. International Organization, 53(2), 343–382. https://doi.org/10.1162/002081899550904.
• Lake, D. A. (2007). Escape from the state of nature: Authority and hierarchy in world politics. International Security, 32(1), 47–79. https://doi.org/10.1162/isec.2007.32.1.47.
• Lake, D. A. (2017). Domination, authority, and the forms of Chinese power. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 10(4), 357–382. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/pox013.
• Lanoszka, A. (2013). Beyond consent and coercion: Using republican political theory to understand international hierarchies. International Theory, 5(3), 382–413. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752971913000249.
• Larres, K. W. (2006). A Complex alliance: The Explosive chemistry of Franco-British relations in the post-Cold War world. A. Capet (Ed.), Britain, France and the entente cordiale since 1904 (ss. 198-218). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Little, D. (2010). The Cold War in the Middle East: Suez Crisis to Camp David Accords. M. P. Leffler & O. A. Westad (Ed.), The Cambridge history of the Cold War: Vol. II - crises and detente (ss. 305-326). Cambridge University Press.
• Lundestad, G. (2003). The United States and Western Europe since 1945: from “empire” by invitation to transatlantic drift. Oxford University Press.
• Mearsheimer, J. J. (2001). The tragedy of great power politics. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Pfaltzgraff, D. K. (1979). The Atlantic Community – A conceptual history. W. F. Hahn & R. L. Pfaltzgraff (Ed.), Atlantic Community in crisis / A redefinition of the transatlantic relationship (ss. 3-29). Pergamon Press.
• Reyn, S. (2010). Atlantis lost: The American experience with De Gaulle, 1958-1969. Amsterdam University Press.
• Sander, O. (2013). Siyasi Tarih: 1918-1994. İmge Kitabevi.
• Snyder, G. H. (1984). The security dilemma in alliance politics. World Politics, 36(4), 461–495. https://doi.org/10.2307/2010183.
• Turan Y. & Karafil A. (2021). Avrupa Birliği’nin ABD ile transatlantik ilişkileri. F. Cicioğlu & H. M. Boyraz (Ed.). Avrupa Birliği üzerine tartışmalar: Dış politika ve güvenlik (ss. 13-30). Aktif Yayınevi.
• Vaisse, M. (2001). Intra-alliance conflict related to nuclear weapons politics: The French case (1957-63). G. Schmidt (Ed.), A history of NATO - The First Fifty Years Vol. 3 (ss. 141-154). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Walker, W. O. (2018). The rise and decline of the American century. Cornell University Press.
• Walt, S. M. (1997). Why alliances endure or collapse. Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, 39(1), 156–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396339708442901.
• Waltz, K. N. (2010). Theory of international politics. Waveland Press
• Wilson Center Digital Archive. (1956a). Speech by President Nasser, Alexandria. (1956, Temmuz 26). https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/speech-president-nasser-alexandria-july-26-1956-extract.
• Wilson Center Digital Archive. (1956b). Working notes from the session of the CPSU CC Presidium on. (1956, Ekim 31). https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/working-notes-session-cpsu-cc-presidium-31-october-1956.