CFP: Aftermath of the 1956 Suez crisis: Global Ramifications and Reflections for Dockyards and Shipyards

Writing a decade after the Suez crisis, one contemporary politician dismissed the affair as merely ‘the dying convulsion of the British Empire.’^ This view is still widely held today, but how authentic is that interpretation in hindsight?

How did the Suez crisis redefine Britain’s international identity and economic profile and its relationship with former colonies and ongoing allies? And how did it influence attitudes among Britain’s allies, including France and Israel, who had taken part, and the United States who had forced an early end to the action?

Critically, how did the Suez aftermath and its often bitter recriminations shape future British naval policy on home and overseas dockyards and shipyards and their communities?

Conference themes will include:

• Overview of how the Suez crisis shaped subsequent British and Allied naval strategy and deployment in the Cold War

• Political, local, social and economic effects of Suez on dockyards and shipyards globally
• Global strategic threats and opportunities arising from Suez

• Suez accelerated the global power shift from Britain to the United States – evidence?

If your proposal is accepted, you will present in-person or online. We shall refund UK/European travel fares to the conference (other overseas: travel from UK airport to Greenwich), your fee, lunch and contribute to accommodation, publish your paper and give you a journal volume. Your talk will be c.30 minutes, the printed paper 6–10k words, due 31 June 2026.

Send your title, a 300-word synopsis and a 100-word biography by 15 December 2025 or earlier to Roger Bendall roger@rogerbendall.com and Dr Ann Coats avcoatsndschair@gmail.com N.B. The proposal should present original research.

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