Czechoslovak Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict from 1948–1989

Eva Taterová

• Publisher: V&R Unipress
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9783847019176
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

The book examines the diplomatic engagement of communist Czechoslovakia in the Arab-Israeli conflict between 1948 and 1989. Based on extensive archival research, the study maps the fundamental shift from Prague's initial support for the State of Israel to its later alignment with Arab actors directly involved in the conflict, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinians. It shows how this reorientation was expressed through political and military support, as well as through the development of economic cooperation and scientific, educational, and cultural relations, focusing not only on the level of Cold War alliances but also on broader East–South relations. By focusing on the perspective of a small East Bloc European state, the book situates Czechoslovak diplomacy within the broader context of Cold War international politics.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Body
• Preface
• Czechoslovakia in the Postwar Middle East: A Soviet Satellite on the Cold War Front
• A Brief Era of Czechoslovak-Israeli Friendship in the late 1940s
• Forging New Alliances: Czechoslovakia’s Shift Toward the Arab World
• Czechoslovak Arms, Goods, and Influence: Political, Military, and Economic Relations in the 1960s
• The Six-Day War and Beyond: Czechoslovakia’s Break with Israel and Deepening Alignment with the Arab World
• Transforming Czechoslovak Cold War Alliances in the Middle East During the 1970s Détente
• Czechoslovakia’s Diminishing Role in the Middle East Before the Fall of the Communist Regime
• Conclusion
• Abbreviations
• Bibliography
• Index