External and internal security factors in Egyptian foreign policy following the 2011 Arab uprisings -

Abstract

For most of its modern history, Egypt held a central position in the regional political system of the Middle East. From 1952-1970, President Gamal Abdel Nasser strove to turn Egypt not just into a regional power but a regional hegemon in its own right. His successors however had to deal with the lasting economic and political impact of Nasser’s decisions and so were forced to address domestic affairs such as the economy, thus weakening Egypt’s influence in the region. With the beginning of the Arab Uprisings in late 2010, longtime dictators such as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Muammar Gadhafi in Libya, and Ali Abdullah Saleh were removed from power with the hope that more open and representative democratic systems would take their place. However, as soon as the uprisings began, a countermovement by the remaining governments in the region such as Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries began to mobilize. The aim of these regimes was either to vie for control in the new regional arena or simply try to ensure their own survival. In the process, the regional alliance system that was forged after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq was also thrown into disarray. During this process of upheaval, Egypt played an important role due the important geostrategic location of the country in the Middle East and its influence on other actors in the region. An important point to notice is the divergence in foreign policy between Abdel Nasser and his successors. To Nasser, his legitimacy was based on his position as the standard bearer of Arab Nationalism and which is what drove his foreign policy strategy. To this end, foreign policy emphasized Egypt’s role as a regional power and placed the country at the head of the Non-Aligned Movement and the campaign to resist the continued influence of the imperialist powers on their former colonies. The pattern of foreign policy decision making in Egypt following the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970 however shows a trend of continuity marked by a passive focus on internal and