The Taproot of Egyptian Foreign Policy
This chapter examines the legitimacy crisis that developed in Egypt during 1946, when the government of Prime Minister Ismail Sidqi found itself caught between the dictates of the international system and the angry demands of Egyptian nationalists. On the one hand, Britain demanded that Egypt remain within the imperial sphere of influence. On the other hand, nationalist opinion claimed the right to withdraw from the British security zone and called for the unity of Egypt and the Sudan under the crown of King Faruq. In October 1946, Ismail Sidqi and British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin compromised, arriving at a draft for a new treaty. The agreement fell due to opposition from the Wafd, the Muslim Brothers, Makram Ubayd's party, the student organizations, and a host of prominent politicians. The experience of Sidqi Pasha in 1946 proved that the Anglo-Egyptian military alliance was illegitimate in Egyptian politics. It would not be long before this truism clearly guided the foreign policy of Cairo.
Keywords: British security zone, Britain, foreign policy, treaty, Sudan, Egyptian nationalists, Wafd, legitimacy crisis, Ismail Sidqi, Ernest Bevin
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .