Case Study: Egypt, a stake for the Western powers since...

Case Study: Egypt, a stake for the Western powers since

1918

How has Egypt tried to become a power in the Middle among the pressures exerted by the Western powers since 1918?

PART 1 – Case study From a British condominium to independence

1. How did the British rule Egypt in the first quarter of the 20th century?

The Ottoman Empire at its peak: 17th

From a British condominium to independence

2. On which ideas was based the British domination on Egypt?

From a British condominium to independence


The Rhodes Colossus: Caricature of Cecil John Rhodes, after he announced plans for a telegraph line and railroad from Cape Town to Cairo. Date 10 December 1892 Source Punch


Suez Canal, inaugurated in 1869 to the sounds of Verdi’s “Aida”



The Fachoda crisis : Colonel Marchand vs General Kitchener Colonial rivalries between French and British

3. What did the British have to face in Egypt and push them to give Egypt its independence?

In 1914, after World War I broke out in Europe, the Ottoman Empire in Egypt fatefully allied itself with Germany. Britain then declared Egypt a protectorate.

Saʿd Zaghlūl, founder of the Wafd, an Egyptian nationalist party who claimed for independence

Lord Allenby, promised the independence in order to… maintain a British Control on Egypt

3. What did the British have to face in Egypt and push them to give Egypt its independence?

Case study – Part 2 Securing the route to the East and the Suez Canal

Great Britain

Straight of Gibraltar

« Rule Britania »: a global network of sea routes

Treaty of Sèvres, 1920 : The British influence at its high point

Case study – Part 3 From the British control to the American control

1. How did the British rule end in the Egypt? • Britain allowed independence (1922) but retained a key role in Egyptian foreign

affairs and defense until 1936. A treaty arranged for the withdrawal of British troops, except from the Canal Zone, which was recognized as a British vital interest.

• Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal Britain and France feared that Nasser might close the canal and cut off shipments of petroleum.

Summary of the 1956 events: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/headline-highlights-1956-suez-canal-crisis/query/SUEZ+CRISIS+ • On November 5 and 6, British and French forces landed at Port Said and Port

Fuad and began occupying the Canal Zone. • This move was soon met by growing opposition at home and by U.S which

quickly put a stop to the Anglo-French action. On December 22 the UN evacuated British and French troops, and Israeli forces withdrew in March 1957.

• Britain and France, lost most of their influence in the Middle East as a result of the episode.

Role play!

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/headline-highlights-1956-suez-canal-crisis/query/SUEZ+CRISIS











Role play: the Suez crisis, 1956 Groups of 5 students

1 student = 1 role Egyptian: Want to expel the British and French from the canal of Suez, search for economic support. French / British: try to maintain their global influence despite their heritage from the past (WW & colonial empire) USSR: try to break through the US containment policy. Ready to intervene military. US: Do not want, at any cost, the USSR to control Egypt because of its strategic location on the oil sea route. UN: try to prevent a military conflict and to send some peacekeepers (US, USSR, GB and France get a veto power)

Each one writes down its strategy: • What are your purposes? (geopolitical, economic, social). Justify. • How far are you mighty (politically, military, economically)? What are your

strengths, your weaknesses? • Try to point out the balance of power: Who are you superior to / inferior to? • As for your public relation strategy, what are the elements that you want to

highlight?

Before playing the roles, watch: International conference in London: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/suez-22-nations-debate-the-crisis

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/suez-22-nations-debate-the-crisis













2. How did the relationship between Egypt and the USA evolve throughout the period from 1956 to nowadays? Prove that the peace process between Arabic countries and Israel has influenced the US-Egyptian relationship since 1948. 1956: The US opposition and the U.S.-sponsored resolutions in the UN (made in part to counter Soviet threats of intervention), quickly put a stop to the Israeli-Anglo-French invasion of the Canal Zone.

An Egyptian tank: Defeated on ground, victorious at the end.

2. How did the relationship between Egypt and the USA evolve throughout the period from 1956 to nowadays? Prove that the peace process between Arabic countries and Israel has influenced the US-Egyptian relationship since 1948. 1970’s: President Nasser and Carter looked forward the prospects for peace despite the partnership between the US and the Israeli since 1945 (Israel and Egypt fought three times: 1948 first Israeli-Arab war 1967 six days war, Sinai occupation 1973 Yom Kippur war)

The “free officers” (overthrew Egypt's King Farouk in 1952)

Gamal Abdel

Nasser

(1918 -

1970)

- “During his lifetime,

Nasser was the

dominant figure in the

Arab world”

- Signed arms deal with

Czechoslovakia, 1955

- Nationalized Suez

Canal in July 1956

The Aswan Dam

2. How did the relationship between Egypt and the USA evolve throughout the period from 1956 to nowadays? Prove that the peace process between Arabic countries and Israel has influenced the US-Egyptian relationship since 1948. 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, broked by the US at Camp David. Since then, Egypt is the United States’ most reliable and influential Arab ally.

Begin, Carter and Sadate, Camp David, sept 1978

3. Which were the main domains of cooperation between the two countries? • Egypt is America’s key partner in the Middle East. • The US-Egypt relationship has grown to include working closely on counter-

terrorism; the Israeli-Palestinian peace process; the War of Liberation of Kuwait, peacekeeping operations in Sudan, Bosnia, East Timor, Somalia and elsewhere mainly in Africa, curbing the proliferation of W[eapons of] M[ass] D[destruction]s; expanding bilateral trade and commercial relations; deepening regional economic integration; and promoting moderate Islamic values and representative governments in the Arab world. […]

4. How did Egypt become one the most important leaders of the region? Nasser emerged from the Suez Crisis a victor and a hero for the cause of Arab and Egyptian nationalism. Nasser played beside Nehru and Soekarno the role of the Third World independence and Non-Alignment public speaker. This gave Egypt an international political leadership. Nasser and Sadat managed to take an economic profit of the cold war rivalry between the US and the USSR: The USSR built the dam of Aswan.

Aswan Dam

Egyptian President Nasser and Soviet leader Khrushchev at the ceremony to divert the Nile during the construction of the Aswan High Dam on May 14, 1964. At this occasion Khrushchev called it "the eighth wonder of the world".

Since Sadat’s switch of alliance, the US has provided Egypt with about $19 billion in military aid between 1979 and 2003, making Egypt the second largest non-NATO recipient of U.S. military aid after Israel. Also, Egypt received about $30 billion in economic aid within the same time frame. Egypt’s size (84M of inhabitants currently, most diversified economy of the ME after Israel), central geographic location and cultural heritage render it an indispensable partner for the United States.

To the west: the Near East

Name the Middle East countries (today’s map)

1 Turkey

2 Syria 3 Lebanon

PART II. LESSON Starter

4 Israel&Palestine

5 Egypt 6 SaudiArabia

7 Irak 8 Jordan

9 Kuwait

10 Yemen

11 Oman

12 Emirates 13 Qatar

14 Iran

15 Georgia

16 Azerbaidjian

17 Afghanistan

18 Pakistan

PART II. LESSON A. The period of the Mandates, the Middle-East under

Western control

• The Ottoman Empire dominated the ME since the 14th century

• But since the 19th Century, the Ottoman Empire is on the decline

The Encounter with the West: Napoleon in Egypt, 1798-1801

• On the contrary, Western European countries expand worlwide

• Their dominancy relies on their ability to control a network of relationships, with key locations

• British Promises Made During WWI

The Arab Revolt: UK promises the creation of an Arab state to Sharif Hussein of Mecca if he helps UK and France to defeat the Ottoman Empire Sharif Hussein of Mecca is considered as the founder of the Arab nationalism, a claim for independence

The Balfour Declaration(Nov. 2, 1917)

B. The Middle-East, between promises and Mandates

Sykes-Picot secret agreement, 1916: defines spheres of influence after WW1

• In fact, the Western powers didn’t intended to leave the Middle East at all

It was evident from the beginning that if we won the war these promises would be dead paper

Seven Pillars of Wisdom – Day 1 of 240

http://www.turtlereader.com/authors/te-lawrence/seven-pillars-of-wisdom-day-1-of-240/




• Allied with Germany, Turkey’s empire is dismantled in 1920 (Treaty of Sèvres)

• General Mustafa Kemal takes the control of Turkey in 1923, he wants to restore the Turkish state and its authority / sovereignty over the whole territory.

• He’s the founder of the Republic of Turkey, and the « father of Turkey »: Ataturk

• He recovers the Amenian area in 1923

The mandates

A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, on behalf of the League.

Being ruled under the control of the League of Nations didn’t exclude the « big game » to continue between the European countries (GB and France mainly, victors of the Great War)

1932: Iraq gains formal independence, but Britain maintains air bases.

1958: Hashemites overthrown

Prince Faisal, who helped the British to defeat the Ottoman, claims

to be the king of Syria (Capital: Damascus), with the British approval.

However, France doesn’t give up on its demands.

Prince Faisal is kicked out of Damascus by the French in 1920

Crowned King of Iraq by the British authorities; He receives 96% of

the vote in a plebiscite (1921)

Winston Churchill (Colonial Secretary

in the early 1920s) -- drew the current

map of the Middle East

The Middle East in 1920

Churchill and Prince Abdullah in

Jerusalem, 1921

The separation of Transjordan

from the British Mandate of

Palestine, 1921

The French and British mandates

The mandates favors the expansion of the western economic interests and values

Kemalism : also known as Atatürkism is the founding ideology of Turkey. It is defined by sweeping political, social, cultural and religious reforms designed to separate the new state of Turkey from its Ottoman tradition and embrace a Westernized way of living, including the establishment of democracy, civil and political equality for women, secularism, state support of the sciences and free education, many of which were first introduced to Turkey during Atatürk's presidency in his reforms.

Oil interests: quincy agreement

Drawbacks: single party, military controled government

The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was an English company founded in 1908 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. It was the first company to extract petroleum from Iran. In 1935 APOC was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and in 1954 it became the British Petroleum Company (BP), one of the antecedents of the modern BP plc

C. The Mandatory powers questioned by the local populations: the rise of the Arab Nationalism

Key founder: Michel Aflaq (b. 1910 in Damascus, d. 1989 Baghdad)

Motto: “Unity [Arab], Freedom [from colonialism], and Socialism”

Founded in Damascus in 1941 by young intellectuals

The Ba’th Party: emergence of Pan-Arabism

1932: Irak independence Al Saoud family gains control on Saudi Arabia, deposing the pro- British government, with strong nationalist declarations and strict islamic rules.

1936: Egyptian independence

1946/47: End of the Mandates (aftermath of WW2, US support to independence)

D. The Cold War, the turning point to the American control (1947/1991)

i. The second world war and the Suez Crisis, the end of the British rule

1) consequences of WWII on the British influence in the Middle-East: - The Atlantic charter :

3rd point: “ right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live” “sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them”

- The UN charter (26 June 1945): Chapter 1, Article 1, part 2 states that purpose of the UN Charter is: "To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace."

2) How did the Suez crisis destroy the British influence in the Middle-East? Which power took control of the region after that (precise if it was challenged)?

The second world war and the Suez Crisis, the end of the British rule (continuation)

The Baghdad pact 1955(yellow), other US allies (underlined in blue) and Soviet allies in the mid 50s (red stars)

The Baghdad Pact was a defensive organization for promoting shared political, military and economic goals. Similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, the main purpose of the Baghdad Pact was to prevent communist incursions and foster peace in the Middle East.

WARNING The Arabs country had their own agenda during the Cold War • Pan-Arabism: An ideology espousing the unification of the

countries of the Arab world. It is closely connected to Arab nationalism, which asserts that the Arabs constitute a single nation. Advocates of pan-Arabism have strongly opposed Western political involvement in the Arab world. (also related to non aligned movement)

• Internal splits: The idea of pan Arabism declined after Nasser’s death (1970). Saudi Arabia never supported it. From 1980 to 1988, the Iran-Irak war clearly shows that the purpose to unify Arab countries is nothing more than a dream.

• The Israeli-Arab relationship: some of the Arab countries found an agreement (Jordan), some fought than signed a peace agreement (Egypt, 1979), other still consider Israel as a state to withdraw (Iran)

http://fr.slideshare.net/nallgyer/israeli-palestinian-conflict-student-version

Palestine/Israel: the 1947 UN Partition

Plan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJnSY-lvCJM 0 to 8’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJnSY-lvCJM






Jerusalem Holy Sites

The Temple Mount compound, in the old city in East Jerusalem, covers an area of 35 acres.

Dome of the Rock Islamic tradition says that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from the spot marked by the Dome of the Rock.

Western or Wailing Wall Just below the Temple Mount is the Western or Wailing Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism. This is part of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount dating back to a time when a Jewish temple stood on the Mount. Jews go to the Western or Wailing Wall to pray and leave prayers on pieces of paper between the wall's ancient stones.

The internationalization of the 1948-49 war (Israel’s “war of independence”)

The Palestinian “naqbah:” birth of the refugee problem

The Sinai Campaign, 1956

The Six-Day war, June 1967

ii. The USA as a diplomatic leader of the region

1979 The Camp David agreement

US brokers

1993 Oslo agreement

Middle-East during the Cold War

E. The New World Order : The Middle-East and the American unilateralism

1. Prove that the Middle-East has still been a key strategic location for the US since the end of the Cold War

1990 / 91: Operation Desert Storm

Iraq had refused to comply with the UN ultimatum for its troops to withdraw from Kuwait after its invasion in August 1990

A Kuwaiti soldier with a machine gun stands silhouetted on the skyline

British Army soldiers are given injections against the effects of a possible chemical atteck

British and US forces prepare to launch laser-guided bombs on Iraq

A US soldier examines the wreckage of a missile, believed to be a Scud, which landed in Saudi Arabia

A cow stands in front of burning oil wells, set alight by retreating Iraqi forces in the al-Ahmadi oil fields near Kuwait City

French soldiers patrol under a mural of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Southern Iraq

An Egyptian soldier guards Iraqi prisoners in the Kuwaiti desert

A Kuwaiti raises his arms in celebration as Allied forces arrive in Kuwait City

Saddam Hussein speaks on television for the first time after Iraq's defeat

Kuwait City celebrates after the liberation

New Yorkers celebrate the end of the Gulf War

2001 / - The war in Afghanistan The US-led war in Afghanistan was a response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on America in which nearly 3,000 people died. Air strikes were the first retaliatory response to the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. The key objectives were to stop Afghanistan from remaining a terrorist haven and to find Osama Bin Laden. Within three months, the Taleban were effectively ousted, but stabilising the country is proving more challenging.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/stateoftheunion2002.htm

“We will disarm Iraq and free its people” Psdt Bush

2003: US launches missiles against Saddam

""

Tensions between Iraq and the US continued after 1991 as ceasefire agreements were violated and UN weapons inspectors were prevented from doing their job. In March 2003 George Bush's son, George W, launched an attack on Iraq in spite of worldwide opposition to war. Within a month, the Baghdad regime had collapsed and the Americans were claiming victory but there was no sign of the weapons of mass destruction allegedly being stored by the Iraqis. Saddam Hussein was captured after several months in hiding, put on trial by an Iraqi court, sentenced to death and executed on 30 December 2006.

ME curent issues for the US :

Egypt : Arab spring / Muslim brotherhood

Iran : Nuclear program

Syria : El Assad or the rebels

Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan : unreliable allies

a) The European domination since the aftermath of the Great War

The British imperialism before 1914

British control in the Suez canal area, strategic land bridge and sea route towards India

Former borders of the Ottoman Empire (before the Treaty of Sevres) British and French mandates, Arab territories ruled under the control of the League of Nations

b) The Mandatory powers questioned by the local populations: the rise of the Arab Nationalism

Cradle of the Arab nationalism, uprisings

First independent Arab states: Turkey, 1923 (Mustapha Kémal’s dictatorship & western policy), Saudi Arabia, 1932 (Ibn Saoud ultra conservative Wahhabi movement), Iran, 1934 (Shah’s westernized monarchy until 1979)

Jewish migration toward Palestine aiming at the creation of a homeland (Zionism)

Growing American interests in the area (US companies oil fields)

c) The Middle East after 1945 : The European decline and the birth of Israël.

Begining of the decolonisation movement : Independences

UN partition plan : Split of Palestine (end of the British mandate)

Creation of the state of Israel

Key peoples: Key time landmarks :

1916 : Sykes-Picot secret agreement: plans the sharing of the Ottoman Empire after WW1 1917 : Balfour Declaration in favor of a Jewish homeland in Palestine

1920 : Treaty of Sèvres : Collapse of the Ottoman Empire

1936-39 : Arab uprisings

1947 : UN partition plan for Palestine (set up in a very contentious context: between Jews and Palestinian people)

1948 : Birth of the State of Israel

Mustapha Kemal

(1881-1938)

David Ben Gourion

(1886-1973)

Ibn Saoud (1880-1953)

1. The legacy of the European domination upon the Middle-East

Founder of modern « westernized » Turquey in 1923, secular dictatorship , nicknamed « Atatürk » (father of

Turkey).

First king of Saudi Arabia, Founder of the dynasty in 1932

Polish jew who migrated to Palestine and became a Zionist leader during the British mandate. He declared Israel’s

independence and was its 1st prime minister

Borders drawn by European colonialists, not taking into consideration the human (Persian, Turkish, Arab people), religious (Sunni, Shii, Christians) and economic diversity (oil deposits / industries / rural backwardness). An ambigous British policy who make contradictory promisses both to the nationalist Arabs and zionist.

1946

a) Tensions and crisis due to the cold war bipolarisation

Soviet Union supported states (financially and militarily)

US allied in the Middle East (Bagdad pact, Israel, Saudi Arabia)

The Suez crisis 1956 : European powers on the decline

The failure of Nasser’s panarabism, a non-aligned policy attempt

Switches of alliance in favor to the USA

b) From local conflicts to cold war struggles

Israeli – Arabs wars: Israel, a major regional power who forced Egypt to negociate

The Iran revolution: The rise of political islamism

Iran-Irak war front line (1979/1989)

Civil wars based on inter-ethnic / religious rivalries (Lebanon from 1975 to1990)

An unresolved issue: The Palestinian state

2. The Middle East, a cold-war battle field

Key players:

Gamal Abdel Nasser

(1918-1970)

Khomeiny (1902-1989)

Yasser Arafat

(1924-2004)

Time line :

1948-49 : 1st war Arabs vs Israel

1956 : Suez Crisis

1967 : Six-days war : Sinaï , and Golan annexations (+ Gaza strip and West bank buffer zones)

1973 : Kippur war (combined Egyptian and Syrian attack repelled by Israël

1978 : Camp David agreement: official recognition of Israel by Egypt

1979 : Islamic Revolution in Iran overwhelming the Shah’s dictatorship

1980-88 : Iran-Irak war (more than 1 million casualties)

One of the leading Egyptian « free officers » who overthrew king Farouk in 1952. Called the « raïs », he is the most popular Arab

leader in the 50s and 60s. Despite his officially non-aligned policy, he gets closer to the Soviet regime.

Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Khomeini has become the country's

Supreme Leader. He loathes the US and Israel.

Head of the Fatah, he is the PLO leader Convert to diplomatic negociations after having advocated

terror he signed the Oslo Agreement in 1993 First president of the Palestinian Authority

A key location during the cold war (energy…) Arab states are bound to recognize Israel’s military dominance. Some sign a peace agreement Religious tensions between Shii and Sunni

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