An unreliable US President cosying up to Russia. War in the Middle East. And a global oil crunch… 70 years after the Suez Crisis, history is repeating itself in truly brutal ways
The article argues that today’s conflicts and energy pressures echo the crises of 1956, when Britain and France invaded Egypt during the Suez Crisis as the Soviet Union prepared to crush Hungary’s uprising. It says Suez sharply diminished Britain’s standing as a world power, while the Hungarian Revolution exposed Soviet repression and unsettled some Western supporters of communism.
The piece compares those events with current instability involving the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East, while describing the author’s novel, *Levin’s War*, set in 1956. It focuses on Prime Minister Anthony Eden, whose government saw Egypt’s seizure of the Suez Canal as a threat to British and French interests, particularly oil supplies. The supplied article text ends mid-sentence, so it does not include the full discussion.
In short
- Suez and Hungary’s 1956 uprising reshaped Britain’s global standing.
- The article draws parallels with current conflicts and oil concerns.
- It centres on Eden and the canal’s seizure by Egypt.
Explained simply
In 1956, Egypt’s president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, took control of the Suez Canal, a vital route for trade and oil. Britain and France, led by Prime Minister Anthony Eden, invaded Egypt, while the Soviet Union prepared to put down an uprising in Hungary.
The crisis exposed limits to Britain’s power and drew attention to Soviet repression. The comparison with current tensions involving the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East centres on how conflicts and pressure on oil supplies can affect relations between countries.
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