The Suez crisis of October 1956 was one of those seminal twentieth-century events which connected the emerging Cold War with the early period of post- colonial independence. Beginning as a dispute between the Egyptian government, on the one hand, (...)
Ahmed Abdalla, political scientist and activist, died in 2006. Professor Roger Owen gave this talk at Cairo University on the first anniversary of Abdalla's death.
In his talk, Owen called for instituting an annual lecture at Cairo University in (...)
The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism, Erez Manela, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
As a young Oxford undergraduate in 1957 I had the great good fortune to hear the distinguished (...)
New research is shedding light on the depth of British involvement in the break-up of Palestine, writes Roger Owen*
In the vast -- and largely ideological -- literature produced by the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Britain's responsibility for the (...)
Fifty years on, four main lessons may be learned from the events surrounding the Suez crisis, writes Roger Owen*
The Suez crisis of October 1956 was one of those seminal twentieth-century events which connected the emerging Cold War with the early (...)
In the early years of the 20th century Egypt was a forerunner in the international drive to ban trade in hashish, writes Roger Owen
A new book, Cannabis Britannica, by the British author James Mills throws interesting light on the key role played by (...)
Property relations, communal identity or nationalism? Roger Owen* discusses some Iraqi politico-social dynamics
During the last few months I have been thinking a lot about President Bush Senior's decision not to send troops rushing to Baghdad after (...)
The Egyptian republic was born 50 years ago last June. Roger Owen* saw it unfold
I first visited Egypt in June 1956 when the republic was not yet three years old. It was an exciting moment with Cairo's main streets decorated with the flags and (...)
The exemplary nature of the US invasion of Iraq bodes ill for the world's future, writes Roger Owen*
The new United States defence doctrine based on the notion of preventive response means that any war now fought by America necessarily has an (...)