Regional power equations on razor’s edge

  Some countries are compelled by history, or rather by geography, to be involved in the balance of power calculations of the region where they find themselves, or the calculations of imperial powers coveting their geostrategic positions.

Consider Egypt’s unique geographical position with commercially and militarily significant access to the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea, linked by the Suez Canal. The nationalisation of the latter by Egyptian President Jamal Abdul Nasser in 1956 threw Egypt into a direct confrontation with the two imperial powers that had dominated the region — Britain and France. An expansionist Israel, anxious to contribute to the downfall of Nasser, joined the Anglo-French plot to attack Egypt, seize the Suez Canal, humiliate Nasser (the champion of Arab nationalism) and in the process bring about the collapse of his regime.