Foreign Policy as Nation Making: Turkey and Egypt in the Cold War

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Cambridge University Press, Dec 13, 2018 - Political Science
After the Second World War, Turkey and Egypt were among the most dynamic actors in the Middle East. Their 1950s foreign policies presented a puzzle, however: Turkey's Democrat Party pursued NATO membership and sponsored the pro-Western Baghdad Pact regionally, while Egypt's Free Officers promoted neutralism and pan-Arab alliances. This book asks why: what explains this divergence in a shared historical space? Rethinking foreign policy as an important site for the realisation of nationalist commitments, Abou-El-Fadl finds the answer in the contrasting nation making projects pursued by the two leaderships, each politicised differently through experiences of war, imperialism and underdevelopment. Drawing on untapped Turkish and Arabic sources, and critically engaging with theories of postcolonial nationalism, she emphasises local actors' agency in striving to secure national belonging, sovereignty and progress in the international field. Her analysis sheds light on the contemporary legacies of the decade which cemented Turkey's position in the Western Bloc and Egypt's reputation as Arab leader.
 

Contents

List of Figures
1Empire and Nationalism in Turkey and Egypt
Imagining a ʻLittle
Imagining
Members
ʻFreeingʼ
7Egypt from the Baghdad Pact to Czech Arms
Linking
Comparative Conclusions
Bibliography
Index

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About the author (2018)

Reem Abou-El-Fadl is Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Before moving to School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, she was Lecturer at Durham University and Jarvis Doctorow Junior Research Fellow in International Relations and the Middle East at the University of Oxford.