Miscalculations and Legacies: A Look Back at the 1973 War Half a Century On

Fall 2023 / Essays

Historians continue to debate “what if” scenarios about the pivotal conflict which reshaped the Middle East

The 1973 October War and the Soviet Union

Fall 2023 / Essays

The Soviets tried to work out viable policies to deal with the fallout of the October War and Egypt’s pivot to the West

Shifting Tides: Egypt’s Unexpected Path After the 1973 War

Fall 2023 / Essays

What prompted Egypt to move from a socialist state to a capitalist one, from Israel’s adversary to its reluctant diplomatic partner, from being a country with a strong national identity to a deeply divided one? The answer is war

Israel and the United States Did Not See the 1973 War Coming

Fall 2023 / Essays

Israel’s mistaken pre-war assumptions about the 1973 War caused it to fail to foresee the potential outbreak of a war with Egypt and Syria. What were these calculations based on and why did the United States follow suit?

United States Diplomacy and the 1973 War

Fall 2023 / Essays

Before the October 1973 War, U.S. administrations showed little interest in trying to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. The war was pivotal in launching U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East and kick-starting serious steps toward Egyptian-Israeli peacemaking

We Downplayed the Signs of Peace, Then Downplayed the Signs of War

Fall 2023 / Essays

The October War came as a shock to the Israeli leadership and security community. Their failure to take Sadat’s peace approaches and the imminent threat of war seriously led to changes to both the regional and domestic Israeli political landscapes

Delivering the Palestinians to Israel: The Lasting Effects of the 1973 War on the Palestinian Question

Fall 2023 / Essays

In the years following the creation of Israel, the United States became the game master of the Arab-Israeli peace process. For Palestinians, this meant that they would not have a seat at the table for decades to come

The 1973 War and its Aftermath: The View from Damascus

Fall 2023 / Essays

Syrian gains in the conflict were elusive as a unilateral strategic move from the Egyptians put them in jeopardy

What if the October War Had Happened Differently?

Fall 2023 / Essays

Four “what if’s” that could have changed the course of history

1973—A Global Paradigm Shift

Fall 2023 / Essays

The outcomes of wars are evaluated based on how close any of the warring parties come to reaching their objectives. In the case of Egypt in the October War, it is undeniable that the country fulfilled its objectives

October 6, 1973: The War for Peace

Fall 2023 /

Over the years, we have dedicated the pages of the Cairo Review to commemorate historic milestones that have altered the course of events globally and regionally. Few such milestones can compare to the momentous and transformative impact of the 1973 October War on Middle East regional politics, as a major turning point in the Cold War, and as a defining case study in the diplomacy of war and peace.
This month marks fifty years since Egyptian troops broke through the Bar-Lev defensive line on the east banks of the Suez Canal. » Read more about: October 6, 1973: The War for Peace »

October 1973: Memoires of a Soldier and Scholar

Fall 2023 / Essays

Reflections on how I experienced the war, first as a student-activist, then as a soldier, and later as a political scientist

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