Based on the use of diverse source material, it was possible to compare and contrast the positions of the parties that took an active part in the Middle East confrontation, to identify the features and trace the consequences of this confrontation for the region in particular and for world international relations in general. Despite the fact that the conflict between the State of Israel and Arab countries, in particular the Arab Republic of Egypt, has been widely studied by Ukrainian historians, political scientists and international relations experts, the author, on the basis of little-known literature, mainly in English and French, rethinks the causes and peculiarities of the Egyptian-Israeli confrontation, as well as its consequences, and partially refutes Soviet myths and narratives on the issue under study.
It is proved that during the most acute Middle East crises, both superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States of America, stood in close enough positions to prevent the conflict from escalating. The peculiarity of US-Soviet relations through the prism of the Middle East confrontation in the period under study was that the superpowers, even in certain periods, united their foreign policy efforts, as, for example, during the Suez Crisis, forcing France, the United Kingdom and Israel to withdraw their troops from the Suez Canal zone.
The publication defines and analyses the strategic courses of the USA and the USSR in the early 50s of the twentieth century, examines the vectors of international relations and the peculiarities of the use of force factors, and studies the ideological justification of the foreign policy of the United States and the Soviet Union. It is proved that Israel's rapprochement with the USSR was doomed to failure from the very beginning due to the democratic nature of the Jewish state.
The failure of the Soviet-Israeli alliance pushed Tel Aviv to rapprochement with Washington. Although US-Israeli relations cooled as a result of the Suez Crisis of 1956, the situation did not reach the point of severing relations between the United States and the State of Israel, as happened in the case of the USSR. Since the turn of the 50s and 60s of the XX century, US-Israeli relations have been developing into a strategic partnership.In the mid-1960s, a fundamental change in the international political situation in the Middle East became apparent. A series of events that had taken place in the region since 1964 had irreversible consequences, which eventually led to the Six-Day War of 1967. The latter dramatically changed the balance of power in the region under study, and the subsequent Yom Kippur War and the Egyptian-Israeli agreements of the second half of the 1970s further altered the situation in the Middle East.
During the period under study, the Middle East was, and still is, a key region in global international relations, as the strategic interests of many countries intersect in this region, and the Arab-Israeli confrontation flares up again and again with deplorable regularity. The dissertation analyses the origins and causes of the Egyptian-Israeli confrontation and examines the evolution of US-Soviet relations through the prism of the Middle East conflict, comparing its various stages in order to find effective mechanisms that could be useful in resolving the conflict situation in the region in the future.
The scientific novelty of the dissertation is a comparison of the experience of armed confrontation gained by the State of Israel in the 50s and 70s of the XX century and Ukraine in the period 2014–2023. Based on the study of the experience of military confrontation and post-war reconstruction gained and successfully tested by Israel, an attempt is made to adapt this experience to the current military realities of Ukraine, and specific practical recommendations are developed.
Despite the time distance from the present of the historical period studied in this publication, the experience that the State of Israel has in its arsenal today remains relevant both for Israel and Ukraine. Permanent coexistence with enemy neighbours, strengthening and improving state security, rebuilding/building infrastructure, and building psychological and moral resilience of society in the face of war and enemy propaganda are constant crucial components for a state in a state of war or military threat.
The analytical material collected in the dissertation, the conclusions and generalisations drawn by the author will be of wide practical application as they can be used for in-depth study of the foreign policy of the USSR and the USA towards the Middle East, as well as in the preparation of special courses for higher education institutions.
Keywords: Egyptian-Israeli confrontation, US-Soviet relations, Middle East, geopolitical rivalry, Israel, USA, USSR, Egypt, Cold War, Arab-Israeli conflict, international relations, Suez Crisis, Six-Day War, Arab countries
