IB Docs (2) Team
2. Nasser: Consolidation and maintenance of power
Nasser's harsh treatment of opposition alongside his charismatic leadership were important for consolidating his power at home; his leadership on the foreign stage, and particularly the outcome of the Suez Crisis of 1956 played a key role in also establishing him as leader of the Arab world.
Theme Two: Consolidation and maintenance of power
1. Treatment of opposition
2. Use of of propaganda
3. Foreign policy
How did Nasser consolidate political control after 1952?
1. Treatment of domestic opposition
Muslim brotherhood logo with Arabic word "Prepare"
Opposition to Nasser's ideas was severely dealt with. The Muslim Brotherhood, who opposed Nasser's socialist policies, his secularisation and liberation of women, was severely repressed. The Brotherhood was a rival for popular support. After an attempt to assassinate Nasser in 1954 there had been widespread arrests of Brotherhood members. Nasser had claimed in speeches that he was religious and he had advocated strengthening the ties between the Islamic peoples. However, ‘Arab socialism’ had a secular tone which was disliked by the Brotherhood. The chief ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyed Qutub, condemned Nasser for creating a state of Jahiliya [‘ignorance’]. In 1965, 400 of the Brotherhood were arrested – accused of another plot to overthrow the government. Sayyed Qutub was sentenced to death and executed in 1966 for links to a Saudi plot. In response the Brotherhood passed a ‘sentence of death’ on Nasser.
The Democratic Movement for National Liberation [HADITU] / The Unified Egyptian Communists.
Members of communist groups and the communist party were similarly harshly treated. Nasser was adamant that although Egypt received aid from the Soviet Union, he would not allow communism to be introduced into Egypt. The government closed down the press of HADITU in January 1953 and the party was further undermined by internal disputes over its stance towards the government and it policies towards the poor and working classes. In September 1954 there was a crackdown on the party and 25 leaders were arrested. In 1955 HADITU merged with six other communist groups to form the Unified Egyptian Communist party The ruthless suppression of communists - despite close relations with the USSR – led to a purge of the Egyptian communist party in January 1959 in which 280 leaders were arrested. The Communist party was banned and then dissolved itself in 1965. The regime also established the so called desert ‘concentration camp’ – Abu Zaabal.
The Mukhabarat
Nasser's intelligence service, the Mukhabarat, was established in 1957. Nasser was highly suspicious of conspiracies against him and the Mukhabrat ruthlessly hunted opponents and conspirators. Even the telephone lines of Nasser’s own government ministers were tapped. However, according to historian Aburish, Nasser remained unaware of the scale of the oppression carried out by the Mukhabarat. The press was also under state control and heavily censored. In 1958 Nasser passed the so-called emergency law, which restricted political freedoms and this remained in place from 1967 to 2012. The intelligence service, censorship and legal restrictions gave Nasser authoritarian control in Egypt.
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
In pairs read through the bullet points below and identify the methods used to contain opposition to Nasser’s regime.
- 1952: August trade unions posed a threat to the regime by striking. Strike broken up by force and some strikers accused of being ‘communists’ or ‘traitors’
- 1952: the Ministry of Religious Endowments was created which removed the mosques' financial independence.
- 1953: A major strike was put down with 3,000 arrests.
- December 1953: Law of individual contracts: workers given holiday pay, free transport and healthcare.
- Strikes were banned but not trade unions. Trade union membership trebled.
- 1954: Political parties banned
- March 1954: Students demonstrated against the Revolutionary Command Council. In response, Liberation Rally offices were set up on university campuses. This was to recruit student supporters and intimidate opponents of the regime.
- March 1954: Crisis when Nasser is challenged by protests to return to liberal democracy. Countered by mass demonstrations by workers in favour of Nasser’s leadership.
- 1954: After the attempted assassination of Nasser by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in October, the Brotherhood was banned, some members executed and many arrested.
- 1957: General Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions was created to represent all workers. Its board was appointed by the government.
- 1962: Arab Socialist Union set up socialist youth organizations at universities and replaced the Liberation Rally offices. The government had ‘university guards’ inform on fellow students
2. Use the cult of personality and propaganda
‘There is no escaping the conclusion that Nasser represented an odd type of dictator. He manifested a need to be loved… which most other dictators do not have. His dictatorial ways were a mixture of populism and a need to be accepted as a man of principle’ Said Aburish. 2004.
Nasser was a popular leader and his government had some features of a populist regime. His personal capabilities were:
- Effective orator
- Spoke in plain language
- No strong ideology
- Listened to public opinion
- A ‘man of the people’ he resided in a suburban villa not a presidential palace and heads of state were invited for plain dinners at his home prepared by his wife
- Did not create a dynasty / no plan for children to succeed him
- CIA reported that Nasser was ‘too clean’ and ‘had no vices’ the agency to target and attack
But another aspect of political control was the development of a cult of leadership. This was perpetuated through propaganda in the media and by Nasser himself. The radio broadcasts of the Voice of the Arabs (Radio Cairo) were an important propaganda tool which allowed people in Iraq and Syria as well as in Egypt to hear Nasser's speeches; these speeches were very popular and Nasser used them to attack leaders with whom he disagreed - the Baghdad pact and the West - and also to appeal directly to the people of the Middle East.
Task One
ATL: Research skills
In small groups investigate examples of propaganda and Nasser’s cult of personality. Feedback your research to the class and discuss the ways in which propaganda was used to consolidate and maintain control in Nasser’s Egypt.
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
In small groups review the material covered above and add examples of the role played by: persuasion, coercion and the use of force in the consolidation of power in Nasser’s authoritarian state.
Method | Example |
Persuasion | |
Coercion | |
Use of force |
4. Impact of foreign policy
‘Whatever disasters befell Egypt, Nasser never lost his popularity with the masses’
Martin Meredith
Task one
ATL – Thinking and communication skills
1. Go to 2. Arab-Israeli conflicts, 1956 to 1973 and work with a partner through Activity 1, 2 and 3 which cover the Suez Crisis 1956 and the Six Day War 1967.
Make notes on the success and failures of Nasser during the Suez crisis and during the Six Day War.
2. Go to 5. Pan-Arabism and the UAR and make notes on Pan-Arabism and the UAR.
Discuss with a partner how Nasser’s promotion of ‘Pan-Arabism’ and the UAR served to strengthen Nasser’s state and the maintenance of power.
To what extent did the failure of the UAR and Pan-Arabism affect Nasser’s regime in Egypt?
Task Two
ATL: Thinking skills
Now go to 3. Nations affected by Cold War tensions: Egypt and work through Activity 1 and 2 and make notes on the role played by Nasser in the ‘Non-aligned movement’ during the Cold War. Then go to Activity 6 and make notes on the impact of the Cold War on Egyptian foreign policy and how far these policies were influenced by the USSR.
Task Three
ATL: Thinking skills
In pairs make a copy of the chart below and identify where Nasser used foreign policy to consolidate and maintain control and where his domestic aims and policies led to failures in foreign policy.
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