Background Briefing: Egypt's History, Economy and Foreign Relations, 1882-1981

*Background Briefing

*SOAR [or ROAR if you prefer]

Physical and Cultural Geography

Arid climate

Arabic language

Religion

Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%

Coptic Christian and other 10%

Comparative Statistics (2020)

  Egypt U.S.
Population 106 million 326 million
Literacy rate 71.2% 99%
Per capita income $11,763 (rank 136) $62,530 (rank 15)

Table Source: CIA World Factbook

Comparative workforce structure (%)

Country Agriculture Industry Services
U.S. (2009) 0.7 20.3 79
France (2016) 2.8 20 77.2
S. Korea (2016) 4.8 24.6 70.6
Brazil (2017) 9.4 32 58.5
Egypt (2015) 26 25 49
China (2016) 28 29 44
India (2014) 47 22 31

Table Source: CIA World Factbook

*Colonialism & Imperialism: Africa and Asia, 1850 to 1960

W. Europe and U.S. dominate Africa and Asia, 1850 to 1960

Proportion of World's Industrial Potential

What parts of the world (Developed vs. Third World) have been the winners and losers in the global redistribution of wealth?

British and Indian Industrial Potential, 1750-1980

What is the relationship between the industrial potential of Britain and India while India was a colony of Britain from 1765 to 1947? How did India fare in 1750 and 1980 before and after British domination?

British Colonialism in Egypt

Ottoman Province 1517-1882

Muhammad Ali, r. 1805-44

Modernization program

Factories, schools, etc.

Suez Canal, 1869

Repossessed, 1876

Military revolt, 1882

British “Protectorate,” 1882-1922

Egyptian King

British Consul-general

“Independent” Constitutional monarchy 1922-52

King Fuad, r. 1922-36

King Faruq, r. 1936-52

Traditional social elite retain control

"Half-percent” society (p. 24)

No true democracy

Socio-economic inequity

6% of population own 63% of agricultural land

*Nationalist Revolution, 1952

*Gamal Abd al-Nasser (1918-70)

Political policy

“President” 1956-70

Dictatorship

Economic policy

“Arab socialism”

Land redistribution

Nationalization of large industries

Public Education

“Behind Nasser's apparent hostility to the West lay a profound admiration for the Western way of life.” (Galal A. Amin, Whatever Happened to the Egyptians?: From the Revolution to the Age of Globalization, Translated by David William Wilmsen, (Cairo, New York: American University in Cairo Press, 2000) 51.)

Foreign policy

Pan-Arab nationalism

Balance between U.S. & Soviet Union

Hostility toward Israel

Defeated Egypt in 1948 war

Palestine?

June 1967 War

Israel occupies *Sinai (Egypt), Golan Heights, West Bank, Gaza (Egypt)

Economic downturn

Response of Egyptian public

Nasser losses popularity

Pessimism

*Anwar Sadat 1918-1981

Nasser's V.P. in 1970

Political policy

“President,” 1970-81

Dictatorship

Foreign Policy

War with Israel, 1973

Alliance with the U.S.

Peace treaty with Israel, 1979

Economic policy

*Infitah (open-door policy)

Assassinated, 1981

Why?

Hosni Mubarak, b. 1928

Sadat’s V.P., 1975-81

“President” 1981-2011

No major changes in policies

Discussion: Egypt & Economic Globalization

Steger, pp. 38-47, 54-63

What power do international organizations—such as the IMF, World Bank and WTO—and transnational (multinational) corporations (TNCs) have over the global economy?

What is the “Washington Consensus” (pp. 59-63) in trade policies since the 1970s? According to Steger, why are these policies “a new form of colonialism” (p. 61) with negative impacts on developing countries such as Egypt?

Amin, pp. 1-31, 125-35

Why does Amin seem to agree with Steger about the negative impact of the global forces on developing countries like Egypt?

Why does Amin equate globalization with Americanization and the rise of “mass society”?

Why does Amin say that Egypt’s economic development is a “new form of colonialism” (p. 9)?

Why does Amin think that Egypt’s economic development “over the past 50 years seems to have been largely determined by external factors” (p. 133)?

International Economic Organizations

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

World Bank

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Transnational [multinational] corporations (TNCs), (Steger, p. 56, Table 1)

*Washington Consensus, 1970-2016? (Steger p. 61)

#5, #6, #7 promote economic globalization