Arab Cold War
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Politics of the Arab world |
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The Arab Cold War (
Nasser espoused secular pan-Arab nationalism and socialism as a response to the perceived complicity of the Arab monarchies in Western interference in the Arab world, as well as their rentierism and Islamism. Later Nasser embraced the Palestinian cause, albeit within the framework of pan-Arabism.[7] After Egypt's political victory in the 1956 Suez Crisis, known in the Arab world as the Tripartite Aggression, Nasser and his associated ideology quickly gained support in other Arab countries, from Iraq in the east to French-occupied Algeria in the west. In several Arab countries, including Iraq, North Yemen and Libya, conservative regimes were overthrown and replaced by revolutionary republican governments. Meanwhile, Arab countries under Western occupation, such as Algeria and South Yemen, experienced nationalist uprisings aimed at national liberation. At the same time, Syria, which was already strongly Arab nationalist, formed a short-lived federal union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Several other attempts were made to unite the Arab states in various configurations, but all ultimately failed.
Following their independence in the early 1970s the monarchies of
The term "Arab Cold War" was first used by Malcolm H. Kerr, an American political scientist and Middle East scholar, in his 1965 book of the same name and subsequent editions.[9] Despite its name, the Arab Cold War was not a conflict between capitalist and communist economic systems. In fact, all Arab governments, with the exception of the Marxist government of South Yemen, explicitly rejected communism and banned the activities of communist activists within their territories. Moreover, the Arab states did not seek membership of either NATO or the Warsaw Pact, as the vast majority of them belonged to the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Arab Cold War was linked to the global confrontation between the
The Arab Cold War is thought to have ended in the late 1970s as a result of several factors. The success of the State of Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 undermined the strategic strength of both Egypt and Nasser. The resolution of the North Yemen Civil War, although brokered by Nasser and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, was a victory for the Egyptian-backed Yemeni Republicans. The intense Egyptian-Saudi rivalry faded dramatically as attention focused on Egypt's efforts to liberate its own territory under Israeli occupation.
After Nasser's death in 1970, Anwar Sadat became president and departed significantly from Nasser's revolutionary platform, both domestically and in regional and international affairs. In particular, Sadat sought to establish a close strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia under King Faisal, which was crucial to Egypt's success in the first part of the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Building on these early successes, Sadat completely distanced himself from Nasserism by ending Egypt's strategic alliance with the Soviet Union and aligning himself instead with the United States. In 1978, he negotiated a peace treaty with the state of Israel that required the removal of all Israeli military personnel and settlers from Egyptian land. Sadat's peace treaty not only alienated Nasserists and other secular Arab nationalists, but also enraged Islamists, who denounced him as an apostate. This eventually led to his assassination by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad in 1981. Egypt was suspended from the Arab League, leading to its virtual isolation in the region. Meanwhile, Islamism grew in popularity, culminating in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. This established Shi'a Iran as a regional power committed to overthrowing the predominantly Sunni governments of Arab states, both republican and monarchical. After the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in the early 1980s, Egypt, still suspended from the Arab League, joined Saudi Arabia in supporting Sunni-led Iraq against Shi'ite Iran. At the same time, the Sunni-Shi'a conflict in other parts of the region, such as Lebanon, became a new proxy conflict between the regional powers of the two Muslim sects.
Background
During this period, the history of the Arab states were very different. In 1956, only
The dates of the conflicts in this period vary from source to source. Jordanian sources date the beginning of the Arab Cold War to April 1957,[10] while Palestinian sources identify the period from 1962 to 1967 as the most significant for them, but within the wider Arab context.[11]
History
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The Free Officers Movement overthrew King Farouk during the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Free Officers implemented a program to transform Egypt by reducing feudalism, ending British influence and abolishing the monarchy and aristocracy. In 1953 they established Egypt as a republic.[12] On 26 July 1956, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal after Britain and the United States withdrew their offer to finance the construction of the Aswan Dam in response to Egypt's new relationship with the Soviet Union. Britain and France then made a secret pact with Israel to invade Egypt together, but were forced to back down in what became known as the Suez Crisis. Nasser emerged from the war with great prestige as the "unchallenged leader of Arab nationalism".[13]
Nasser used various political tools to increase his visibility in the Arab world. These included radio programs such as Voice of the Arabs and the use of politically active Egyptian professionals, often teachers.
1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saudi Arabia | 206 | 293 | 401 | 500 | 454 | 551 | 727 | 866 | 1027 |
Jordan | - | 8 | 20 | 31 | 56 | - | - | - | - |
Lebanon | 25 | 25 | 39 | 36 | 75 | 111 | 251 | 131 | 104 |
Kuwait | 114 | 180 | 262 | 326 | 395 | 435 | 490 | 480 | 411 |
Bahrain | 15 | 15 | 18 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 36 |
Morocco | - | - | - | 20 | 75 | 81 | 175 | 210 | 334 |
Sudan | - | - | - | - | 580 | 632 | 673 | 658 | 653 |
Qatar | - | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 24 |
Libya | 55 | 114 | 180 | 219 | 217 | 232 | 228 | 391 | 231 |
Yemen | - | 12 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 0 |
Iraq | 76 | 112 | 121 | 136 | 63 | 449 | - | - | - |
Palestine | 13 | 32 | 34 | 37 | 46 | 120 | 166 | 175 | 165 |
Somalia | - | - | 25 | 23 | 57 | 69 | 90 | 109 | 213 |
In July 1958, the
In the early 1960s, Nasser sent an
By the end of the 1960s, Nasser's prestige had declined due to the political failure of the
Islamic revival
Although the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had a smaller population than Egypt, it had oil wealth and prestige as the country of Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities. In 1962, Saudi Arabia sponsored an international Islamic conference in Mecca to use Islam as a counterweight to Nasser's Arab socialism. This led to the creation of the Muslim World League, dedicated to spreading Islam and promoting Islamic solidarity. The League was effective in promoting conservative Wahhabi Islam and combating radical foreign ideologies, such as Arab socialism, in the Muslim world.[17]
The Islamic revival strengthened throughout the Arab world, especially after the
In Egypt, the
Conflicts of the Arab Cold War
1950s
- Egyptian revolution (1952)
- Iraqi Intifada (1952)
- Syrian coup d'état (1954)
- Jebel Akhdar War (1954–1959)
- Algerian revolution (1954–1962)
- Alleged Jordanian military coup attempt (1957)
- Syrian Crisis (1957)
- 14 July Revolution (1958)
- Lebanon crisis (1958)
- Mosul uprising (1959)
1960s
- Operation Vantage (1961)
- Bizerte crisis (1961)
- Syrian coup d'état (1961)
- North Yemen Civil War (1962–1970)
- Ramadan Revolution (1963)
- Syrian coup d'état (1963)
- Dhofar Rebellion (1963–1976)
- Sand War (1963)
- Aden Emergency (1963–1967)
- Syrian coup d'état (1966)
- Six-Day War (1967)
- Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon (1968–1982)
- Corrective Move (1969)
- Sudanese coup d'état (1969)
- Libyan coup d'état (1969)
- Al-Wadiah War (1969)
1970s
- Black September (1970–1971)
- Corrective Movement (1970)
- Sudanese coup d'état (1971)
- Yemeni War (1972)
- Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990)
- Western Sahara War (1975–1991)
- Islamist uprising in Syria (1976–1982)
- Egyptian–Libyan War (1977)
- Ethiopian–Somali War (1977–1978)
- Chadian–Libyan War (1978–1987)
- NDF Rebellion (1978–1982)
- Yemeni War (1979)
- Khuzestan insurgency (1979)
1980s
- Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)
- Ethiopian–Somali Border War (1982)
- Sudanese coup d'état (1985)
- South Yemen Civil War (1986)
- Damascus bombings (1986)
1990s
See also
Notes
- ^ Some sources variously date the end of the period to c.1990, particularly Yemeni unification, the end of the Lebanese Civil War, the Gulf War or the end of the Western Sahara War. Some sources say present.
References
- ^ a b "The Dhofar Rebellion". countrystudies.us. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli (11 February 2009). "The Iranian Roots of Hizbullah". MEMRI. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009.
- ^ Jonathan Chin, Lo Tien-pin and (29 January 2019). "Air force highlights secret North Yemen operations". www.taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ Hoagl, Jim (May 28, 1979). "Taiwanese Hired By North Yemen To Fly U.S. Jets". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Northrop F-5E/F in Service with Taiwan". www.joebaugher.com. joebaugher.com. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ "DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM A CHRONOLOGY AND TROOP LIST FOR THE 1990–1991 PERSIAN GULF CRISIS" (PDF). apps.dtic.mil. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ^ Sharnoff, Michael (2021-06-01). "Nasser and the Palestinians". Middle East Quarterly.
- ^ Gold, Dore (2003). Hatred's Kingdom. Washington, DC: Regnery. p. 75.
Even before he became king, Faisal turned to Islam as a counterweight to Nasser's Arab socialism. The struggle between the two leaders became an Arab cold war, pitting the new Arab republics against the older Arab kingdoms.
- ^ Writings by Malcolm H. Kerr
- The Arab Cold War, 1958–1964: A Study of Ideology in Politics. London: Chattam House Series, Oxford University Press, 1965.
- The Arab Cold War, 1958–1967: A Study of Ideology in Politics, 1967
- The Arab Cold War: Gamal 'Abd al-Nasir and His Rivals, 1958–1970, 3rd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
- ^ Water Resources in Jordan: Evolving Policies for Development, the Environment, and Conflict Resolution, p.250
- ^ Bahgat Korany, The Arab States in the Regional and International System: II. Rise of New Governing Elite and the Militarization of the Political System (Evolution) at Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs
- ISBN 978-0-312-28683-5, p.35–39
- ^ a b c d e f g Gold, Dore (2003). Hatred's Kingdom. Washington, DC: Regnery. p. 75.
- S2CID 159943632. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
- ^ Internal Security in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Public Record Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FC08/1483, 1970
- ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the originalon November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
- ^ Gold, Dore (2003). Hatred's Kingdom. Washington, DC: Regnery. pp. 75–76.
- ^ source: Ian Skeet, OPEC: Twenty-Five Years of Prices and Politics (Cambridge: University Press, 1988)
- ^ Kepel, Jihad, 2002: p.75
- ^ Murphy, Caryle, Passion for Islam: Shaping the Modern Middle East: the Egyptian Experience, (Simon and Schuster, 2002, p.31)
- ISBN 0-7432-3342-5.
- ^ ISBN 9781845112578.
The war of October 1973 was started by Egypt with the aim of avenging the humiliation of 1967 and restoring the lost legitimacy of the two states' ... [Egypt and Syria] emerged with a symbolic victory ... [but] the real victors in this war were the oil-exporting countries, above all Saudi Arabia. In addition to the embargo's political success, it reduced the world oil supply and sent the price per barrel soaring. In the aftermath of the war, the oil states abruptly found themselves with revenues gigantic enough to assure them a clear position of dominance within the Muslim world.
- ^ "The price of oil – in context". CBC News. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt; the Prophet and Pharoh, Gilles Kepel, p.103–04
- al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharoh, Gilles Kepel, 1985, p.129
- ^ Murphy, Caryle, Passion for Islam: Shaping the Modern Middle East: The Egyptian Experience, Simon and Schuster, 2002, p.36